Chapter 2

Everything was falling into place.

With all three of them in her house, Emily Killian knew that the time was right. She would confront them in the grand hall and hint at them her impending plan. To see the looks of terror on their blank faces would bring exhilaration to her dying heart, and give her much more hope of accomplishing her goal. She knew that all of them had survived great supernatural disasters in the past, and they were a great threat to her, as much as she hated to admit it. But with her half-vampire son at her side, she couldn't fail.

Yet…

There was the other, her daughter, who had dared to betray Emily and her son. She'd hoped she could raise both twins, Jade and Jared, as powerful killing machines, but Jade's pure human heart had somehow survived the ten years she'd spent with Emily and Jared, and she'd left, disgusted by the evil shared by her family.

Emily shook her head and chose to temporarily forget her daughter. Her son was out, most probably feeding, and she was going over her plan, making sure it was foolproof. If it was to work, it had to be perfect.

Well, at least the hardest part was over. Now it was just a matter of unleashing every nocturnal abomination at her disposal, and watching with joy as all three humans were ripped to shreds slowly and painfully She could have done it herself, and it would have been much quicker, but she was growing weary and simply couldn't be bothered to waste her time on lesser opponents.

Emily chuckled at her sadistic thoughts, and concentrated her mind on the jail cells beneath her home. She had already sent her most powerful vampire bride out to guide the most weak of the humans' to the grand hall, the others would follow by instinct. After she could feel the jail cells opening she told the monsters inside them what they had to do. She felt the response immediately, and then concentrated on the traps and puzzles locked away in the mansion. They were all immediately activated, and Emily felt the power fizzing through her body.

Now that everything was unlocked and unleashed, there was nothing more to say or do, with the exception of one more task.

It was time to meet her guests.

Rayne ran through the mansion halls, the constant sounds of traps clamping down behind her pounding through her ears. She turned a corner, jumped a small flight of steps, turned another corner-

-and found herself back in the grand hall.

"What the…" Rayne turned around quickly to see that the halls were clear again. But she didn't want to try her luck. If she were left with no other choice, she'd go back.

Besides, it was a good thing that she'd come back to the grand hall. She was getting a little tired, and the hall was the only room she'd come across with chairs.

She walked over to the reception area and sat down on one of the thickly cushioned seats. She stretched out her limbs and looked at the small receptionist's desk.

Hmm…might have some interesting stuff in it… Rayne thought to herself. Groaning because she had to get up again, she pulled herself up from the comfortable chair and pursued the desk, walking round it to the other side. She bent down and pulled out all of the drawers, searching through them carefully. They were mainly filled with business junk, most of it about rented rooms in the mansion.

So, Rayne thought immediately, it doesn't only look like a hotel, but it is one…

She continued her search, but quickly dropped to a sitting position and pressed her back against the drawers as she saw someone enter the hall from an opposite entrance. The familiar whirr of some kind of trap or puzzle faded away, and Rayne could just hear the other persons' heavy breathing.

She hadn't had much time to look, but she could see that the person was a man, and he appeared to be unarmed. But still she waited, not wanting to be seen. She heard the man coming closer. Slowly she reached for her pistol, cocking it as silently as she could, and raising it to about head length. She was ready to shoot anything that tried to come near her. The footsteps drew closer, getting louder, and Rayne slowly turned round, ready to face the man.

But before she could even stand up, a loud crash came from above her, causing her to dive forward. It was stupid of her to do so, but she wasn't thinking at the time. She quickly spun round, aiming her gun. She was immediately facing the man.

He was young, with short, dark brown hair and blue eyes. It was obvious that he'd seen her when he entered the hall, because he'd smashed a chair onto the desk to startle her. He wasn't stupid, that much was true.

"Who are you?" Rayne asked, trying not to let her shock get the better of her.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," the man replied.

"That's not what I asked you. Now tell me your name before I put you under arrest." Rayne was surprised at how powerful and firm she'd sounded. She quickly whipped out her badge and held it out in front of her. The young man looked at it, then at the pistol in Rayne's hand, then at her. He seemed more intimidated by the pistol.

"Ok, fine. My name's Joseph Sparrow. Now will you tell me yours?"

Rayne lowered her pistol, but didn't put it away. She did put the badge away though.

"I'm Rayne Marrik," she said, still trying to sound stern.

"Rayne, that's nice," Joseph said, smiling slightly. And Rayne couldn't help but smile also.

"Thanks."

They were interrupted by the sound of wind blowing. They both turned to look, startled by the sudden appearance of another young man faintly wrapped in fading mist. Rayne suddenly remembered the vampires back at Castle Gaustadt, how they could appear from nowhere as a cloud of mist, and stepped forward with her pistol.

"Stay back, Joseph, he's a vampire."

"What? I'm no vampire!" The man said hysterically. He ran up to Rayne and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You've gotta get me outta this place!"

Rayne shoved the man's quivering hands away and stepped back, still not completely convinced.

"What are you doing here?" She said, trying very hard to not shoot the man.

"I have no idea. One moment I was about to walk home with a bar-" he stopped his story for some reason, then continued, "-my girlfriend, and then suddenly I found myself in some crazy cell! I'm telling you the truth, I honestly have no idea where I am, you gotta believe me!"

Despite the fact that she'd practically seen the man appear from out of nowhere, Rayne couldn't help but think he was telling the truth.

"Well, Ok. Your exit is right there if you want to leave," she pointed to the main entrance.

"Thank you. Thank you so much!" The man turned and began to leave.

Suddenly the candles on the chandelier faded out, causing the hysterical man to cry out in fright. Rayne could hear him trying to leave the mansion, but he wasn't going anywhere.

"The doors are locked," he whimpered. "What are we going to do?"

A voice echoed out from somewhere, making Rayne and the others jump slightly.

"Nothing at all."

The comment was shortly followed by a soft yet cold laugh. Rayne looked around, trying to turn on her flashlight but it wasn't working. The voice was British, and most certainly female. It was a mixture of softness and pure cruelty.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Emily Killian, and I am the owner of the Killian Estate."

Rayne held back a gasp as the unknown woman revealed her name.

Emily Killian, she thought quickly, that's the woman who called me here!

Rayne pointed her pistol out into the darkness, trying to aim at a target she couldn't see.

"Please, put down you gun, Rayne Marrik," Emily said. That very sentence sent a shiver down Rayne's spine.

How the hell did she know I was aiming at her? Rayne thought to herself, scared yet immensely irritated.

"And it is no use trying to leave, Mike Thompson, every door leading out of this mansion is locked."

The hall's echo amplified the faint sound of Mike's whimpering.

"And Joseph Sparrow, how brave of you to follow Rayne into my mansion, even though you were supposed to meet your relative."

"What?" Joseph growled from the darkness.

"Yes, that's right. I am the one who sent the letter to Rayne asking her to come and help with the 'murders', and I was the one who sent out your letter asking you to visit dear Aunt Clara, Joseph. And as for you, Mike, I didn't need to lift a finger for you. I knew you could be easily lured away by my succubus, Yvette."

Rayne was really getting ready to hit Emily, even though she couldn't see her.

"I shall take my leave now. But I will warn you, there are certain 'residents' of my mansion who are after all three of you, and I will be watching when they find you."

A soft, echoed laugh filled the hall, and the sound of footsteps became quieter, and then the familiar sound of blowing wind denoted Emily's exit, and also revealed what she really was.

"A vampire," Rayne said distantly, as the candles gradually relit themselves.

None of them had actually seen Emily Killian, and it made her all the more frightening. And as the light came back, both Rayne and Joseph were able to see that Mike was now huddled on the ground next to the door, apparently having a nervous breakdown.

"Hey," Rayne said calmly, kneeling down next to him. "It's Ok, she can't hurt us."

She knew it was a bald-faced lie, but she thought it might help him.

"What did she mean by 'residents'? Are they like the one who brought me here?" Mike said, but not to Rayne. He was talking to himself.

"Listen, I don't know what she meant by 'residents', but-"

"I know what she meant," Joseph butted in. "She meant monsters. Freaks like her. She's got us trapped in this god-awful place and she's gonna watch us die, like some kid watching an ant burn under a magnifying glass."

Rayne was ready to snap back at Joseph, but didn't bother. If there was anything she knew about men, it was to just let them think they'd won, because they'd go on an on anyway. She didn't want to waste her breath on him. Instead she turned back to Mike and continued trying to comfort him.

"Listen, we're gonna be fine. All three of us are gonna stick together, and we're gonna get out of here, Ok?"

Mike didn't say anything. He just nodded, and began to get up. Rayne sighed with relief and got up as well. She turned to face Joseph.

"You got any weapons on you?"

Joseph pulled out the small envelope opener. Rayne raised her eyebrows to it, getting ready to laugh in Joseph's face.

"Well, knifes aren't particularly brilliant in combat, but if you're gonna use one, I suggest you use something a bit bigger."

She reached round her back and revealed her much larger combat knife.

"Here, use this," she held it out to Joseph, who took it reluctantly.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "So are we ready to go then?"

Rayne looked back at Mike, who was still rather ashen faced.

"Well, seeing as you now have my combat knife, you wouldn't mind giving him the envelope opener, would you? It's just that he has nothing, and-"

"Save your breath," Joseph grumbled. "Although you do realise that by giving him the envelope opener we're just giving him an easy suicide ticket?" He walked over to Mike and quickly handed him the envelope opener. He walked back to Rayne.

"There. Now can we go?"