I wanted to hit Uncle Frankie over the head with a hammer. How the hell could he led this ass-wad into our house? I've told him my 'lovely tales' about this guy -except the recent one where he tried to tear me apart- but… still.

He let him in the house. I was petrified.

"Hello Esther, having a pleasant afternoon?" Oh great, Samson was using his 'sweet teacher voice', the one he uses on retards like Greyson O'Doyle in my math class.

It drove me insane, and he knew it. My veins popped out of my hand in anger.

"I'm fine, thanks…" My throat was dry, and I couldn't look him in the eye. His eyes scared the hell out of me now.

"C'mon then, let's go into the living room and find out what trouble Esther is in now!" Uncle Frankie joked.

I shook as I let go of the banister and shuffled into the living room, Frankie and Samson behind. I took a seat in my chair while Samson and Frankie sat on the double sofa. He went a little red because the room was littered with cans of Heineken and packets of different crisps: MCoy's, Pringles, Walkers, you name it.

"So, what's all this fuss then?" Uncle Frankie sipped a little from his new can of Taurus: Pear Cider. It was unusual for him to drink cider, especially pear.

"Nothing major, just wanted to discuss Esther in general." He looked so casual, innocent. It put me on edge.

"I'll go and make some tea…" I went to escape the room but Mr. Samson stopped me right at the door.

Damn. "Actually, I just want a little talk with you, if you please Esther."

I cautiously made my way back to my chair, eyeing Mr. Samson's icy smile.

"I'll make the tea darlin'. It's okay. I'll be back in 5." He got up and left the room.

"Do you take sugar Mr. Samson?" He called from the kitchen

"Um, 2 sugars please, and a lot of milk. I like my tea milky."

He struck me a serious pedo-face when he said that last sentence, it made my stomach churn.

I gripped the edge of my chair, wondering wether to use the ring on my finger against him. I knew a little about the power, and it could help me.

But I was too late. Mr. Samson got up and closed to door, locking the door knob.

A drop of sweat trickled down the side of my face.

"Fear, Esther." He breathed out and slowly moved towards me.

"You wreek of it."

I jumped out of my seat and ran for the door. He grabbed me by the scruff of my collar and threw me back to the wall. The world spun as I felt a cold liquid drip from behind me. I got up and saw a big crack in the wall, with a few blood splatters.

Worriedly I felt the back of my head for any bumps. Unlucky for me, I felt a gash on the back of my head. My fingers and my palm were splattered with blood.

I looked up and saw his twisted face change once more. Adrenaline surged though my body. Gotta get Uncle Frankie.

I staggered to my feet, my vision was still fuzzy so Samson looked like a scary shape you see in a nightmare. My ankles gave way and I stumbled to floor.

A sharp claw ran down the nape of my neck. I gasped in horror.

I felt a large JERK and I was lifted up. My eyes met a pair of fiery orange pupils, infected with rage. His lifted his arm, ready to slice my stomach. My eyes closed, waiting for the end.

But thankfully, it wasn't my tim to go; It was Samson's.

"Get cho' ugly hands off my niece! Uncle Frankie's in the room!" Frankie burst through the door, a shotgun clasped in his hands.

"…Uncle Frankie?" Was all I could say at that moment. I wondered how the hell he had a shotgun.

"Hey darlin'" His finger pushed against the trigger.

BEWSH!

His aim was extraordinary.

The huge bullet hit Samson straight in the skull. It blew him back with such a force he went straight threw the wall of the house.

However, my face was about 2 meters from Samson's, so I got a little thwack in my skull before smacking into the wall once again.

I saw a blurred ball of Uncle Frankie running towards me, his big Converse sneakers near my face.

Then it all turned to black…

"Hey…"

That voice. That same seductive voice.

My eyes darted around the room. Wait… not a room.

It more like a black blur. Great. I was in the little dream world again.

"Stand up… You have to stand up…"

I looked down and noticed I was on the floor, sitting crossed legged. If I was knocked out, how could I sit up?

My legs shook as I stood, my knees knocked and my ankles shuddered.

My hair felt weird, it wasn't on my shoulders. My fingers felt up over my head. Chopsticks. My hair was up in chopsticks.

I took another look down. I wasn't wearing my jeans and my t shirt. It was a dress. A black corset dress that was a little above my knees. The only thing I had been wearing before I passed out that I was wearing in this dream world were my Converse sneakers. My left sneaker a deep purple, my right sneaker a rich navy.

Something lightly touched my wrist, making me gasp.

"Don't turn around. Please…" The voice crept into my ear.

The light touch of his fingers rose up to my stomach, where his arms wrapped around me. My eyes followed his arms to his hands. His right index finger had a ring, and on his left wrist was a tattoo of a dagger wrapped in ivy with a blood red rose on the tip.

"You'll meet me in time, your just gunna have to wait, beautiful…" The whisper made me shiver, but not a shiver in fear.

"Why are your arms around me? Why do you speak to me in that really seductive, whispering way?"

"Also Have you noticed you look a little older…?"

A mirror rose from the blackness beneath. I saw the person behind me, but only a shape. The arms were like a normal human, but from his biceps up it was like a black shadow. I looked at the eyes, they were of the palest blue.

Then I looked at me. He was right. I did look older. My chest was bigger, my legs were longer, my face looked more… mature. I looked sixteen.

"That's right… That's how old your gunna be when you meet me…"

"Woe! What the hell! You can read my thoughts now?" My face turned from neutral to a fearful mixed with curious.

"I can read them in this world…" His hands traced down to my hips.

"Sixteen. I'm sixteen in nine months."

"So… I'll see you then. It's a date…" The shape's face made a smile before I sank into the shadows beneath me.

"Your waking up from your little 'coma' you've been in. Have fun…"The shape blew me a kiss before The blackness of shadows buried me…

What the hell?

"Esther? Esther? Wake up darlin'." Uncle Frankie's worried eyes sank into mine.

I looked around. The room was white. A TV was in the corner and next to me was a monitor. A heart monitor. It beeped at an even count every time. Sounded like someone had a normal heartbeat.

"Thank the Lord! She's awake and has a steady heart! I was so worried!" Uncle Frankie's eyes were red and looked sore. His hand was in mine, it shook profusely.

Finally energy spurred inside me, giving me the energy to speak.

"Frankie.. Why the hell do you have a shotgun…?

He gave a chuckle, making me chortle with him. The moment was warm, we felt happy.

"That's a long story, and sorry for nearly killing you. I was only aiming for your bastard of a teacher." We both burst out laughing at that.

Then I thought of something grave. "Wait, what about Samson?"

"What about him?" He had a sip of water that was on a small desk next to the bed.

"He's dead, obviously, but how have you hidden his… Well… Corpse?"

"Don't worry bout im'. A close friend has disposed of im'. He's out of our lives for good."

The doctor strode in and looked at the charts at the end of my bed. The doctor had his face covered, and he wore a white hood. We couldn't have caught any identity on him. We knew the doctor was male from his broad and wide shoulders. Also from his low voice.

"I'm sorry Mr Ridgeway, but can I speak to Esther alone for a few minutes?"

Uncle Frankie shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "All right then, won't be long. I'll get ya a Snickers at the vendin' machine." He walked out of the room while the doctor closed the door behind him.

A cold shiver slithered down my spine.

"I need you alone, so I can just…"

He let down his hood and robe. I could've had a heart attack at that moment.

"See what your blood tastes like!" his fangs withdrew and his eyes filled with hunger.

He lunged at me, claws splayed. I lifted my arms and pushed forward. A wave of that dark shadowy stuff flew at him and whacked him straight into the wall.

The shadows unconnected me from the wires in the machines and lifted me into the air. The shadows poured from my arms and feet, covering the room.

The pesky vampire tried to attack again, but this time the shadows grabbed him under the control of my hand. My hand twisted, his body twisted simultaneously inside the shadows. His moans of pain turned into blood-curdling screams of agony.

Do I really? I thought to myself, do I really have the guts to murder someone (or should I say something?) ?

My fingers shook in the shadow grip as I heard a bone crack. He bellowed in pain.

I was about to release him, I couldn't do it.

BANG!

A big hole was blown through the wall

Bright light shone into the room which made the shadows retreat. I fell to the floor and crawled up to the front of the bed. The vampire lay on the floor, a trail of blood leaking from him.

A girl wearing a large coat walked through the gap in the wall. She had long dark hair, and a fireball hovered in the palm of her hand.

She was followed by a tall figure wearing a suit and a hat. The figure turned to face me,

except he didn't have a face.

It was a skull.

The figure held a revolver, but placed it back into his suit jacket.

"Apologies for bursting in like this, but let me introduce myself. I am Skulduggery Pleasant, and this is my partner in crime, Valkyrie Cain." He pointed to the girl who gave me some kind of bow. Wasn't sure why she did though.

The skeleton man looked me up and down, and looked at the shadows trying to hide from the light.

"And Esther Ridgeway, your gunna have to come with us." The girl called Valkyrie smiled.