Thanks for the reviews! I can't believe I got so many in two days for that first chapter!

It was a chill, dark autumn night. Stars were obscured by clouds, and there was a biting chill in the air. It was quiet and still, unnaturally still. The trees on the edge of the forest stood as great statues, not a branch rustling, nor a leaf falling. The moon shown its strange, pale light upon Transylvanian land that night.

The town of Shrania, Transylvania stood as still and desolate as the trees, as if waiting for something. Its wooden houses were sileny, their occupants asleep. No one noticed two dark shadows pass over the village.

Inside a small wooden house at the edge of the village, someone was awake.

Lireela had had a fitful sleep, filled with dreams of blood and darkness. She woke up shivering, and decided to take a walk to get her circulation going.

Creeping out the door so as not to wake her father, Lireela headed into the backyard.

Here it was, perhaps, colder than even her dreams. But there was no harsh wind, the air simply bit into the skin.

Pulling her jacket around her, she looked up into the sky. The moon was pale tonight... it cast eerie shadows beneath the trees.

But then she saw other shadows, moving shadows... shadows that shouldn't've been there...

She looked up at the sky but saw nothing. She shook her head. She was dreaming again. Why did she always see things that weren't there? Not as though that wasn't the weirdest thing about her. She had secrets, dark secrets, secrets she told no one, not even her father. Because if she did, they may cause distress and she could end up in a lab to be researched.

She shivered at the thought. What would scientists do if they found out she could sprout red wings at will? Or sometimes read the thoughts of others? Or move things with her mind? Even she didn't know how she could do all these things, she was just born with them, and had lived with them all 19 years of her life.

There it was again. A moving shadow, only this time beneath the trees.

Slowly Lireela walked toward the shadow, certain now she had not been dreaming. Standing on top of the shadow, which had stopped moving, she looked directly up into the tree above her. Two sets of eyes were gleaming at her from in the tree.

Suddenly, something jumped down from the tree and wrestled Lireela to the ground. Shrieking, Lireela used her telekinesis to throw the thing off her. But just as soon as she heard a thump on the ground, another thing came flying at her, and held her hands and eyes closed.

"Aleera! Get up!" the thing ordered. It was woman's voice, and Lireela could feel icy cold fingers on her forehead where the thing held Lireela's eyes shut.

"How did she do that?" the other woman asked, in a slightly higher voice than the first.

"I do not know, but our master will want her," said the first woman.

"But she is too young!" argued the second.

"If so, she will be his dinner," said the first.

There was the rushing sound of wings and the woman took her hand off Lireela's eyelids.

Blinking, she looked up into the face of –

"Vampire!" she screamed, and the vampire covered her mouth.

"Silence, or you will be my dinner!" she commanded in a harsh whisper.

Lireela tried to use her telekinesis, but with her hands clasped behind her she could do nothing but stare as the vampire transformed into her hideous bat-like form.

"You are coming with me," she said. "Do not expect to see any of your friends again while you live."

She suddenly picked up Lireela, hands still clasped, and flew into the air.

"Mrhmph mrphmph!!!!" was all Lireela managed to scream with the vampire's hand on her mouth.

Flying past Transylvanian land at amazing speed, Lireela's home soon disappeared behind them. Tears flying past her eyes, she hung limply at the vampire's side.

After a few minutes, Lireela saw on the horizon something she wasn't sure was actually there. It was like a tornado, only it was icy snow that formed it, and its top was facing them. Lireela closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them, it was still there.

"Whmrht mihrs thmrhat?"

The vampire loosened her hold on Lireela's mouth so she could hear her properly.

"What is that?" Lireela asked again.

The vampire looked forward, then back to Lireela.

"You can see it?" she asked.

"Yes," said Lireela. She now realized this must be one of those things she shouldn't be able to see but did.

The vampire looked at her for a moment, then said, "You will soon find out."

Lireela did not know what she meant. The vampire flew on for a few minutes, then Lireela realized they were heading straight for the tornado!

"What are you doing???" shrieked Lireela, "You'll -"

But her mouth was once again covered by the vampire's hand.

The tornado was right in front of them now, Lireela could feel icy wind on her face. They flew nearer and nearer to it, and then –

They were inside the tornado. All Lireela could see for a few moments was swirling snow, and she felt numb. But soon she saw a light at the end, and soon they flew out it.

The scenery was completely different from Shrania. It was the middle of winter wherever they were, and right in front of them was a huge, icy fortress - a castle that looked to be older than perhaps even the land surrounding it.

They flew above the gates and into the castle, where it was not much warmer, but Lireela didn't mind the cold so much now. At least they were inside.

The vampire landed, and, turning back into her human form, grabbed Lireela's arm again.

She led her into what appeared to be some sort of living room, but looked as though nothing had actually lived in there for ages. It was musty and damp, and everything was dark, except for the two torches on the wall, which did little to brighten the big room.

"Why did you bring me a child, Verona?" came a cold, mesmerizing voice from inside the room.

Lireela strained her neck, but it was so dark she could not see the speaker.

"This child is... different from others, master," said the vampire who had brought Lireela in.

"How is that?" the man's voice asked, irritation apparent in it.

"We followed her home," said Verona. Lireela scowled.

"She slept for an hour, and we waited."

"Why did you wait for an hour?" asked the voice, this time angry. "When you could have been searching for someone else."

"I sensed something," said Verona.

There was silence. Then –

"This is her... this is what I have sensed... but why is she so young..."

"If you do not want her as your bride, master, you could turn her and –"

"No, no..." said the voice, "I need her... I can smell her blood... I need her to be passionately loyal to me and I cannot do that while she is this young!"

There was the sound of a chair creaking, and out of the shadows stepped Count Vladislaus Dracula.

Lireela could not take her eyes off of him. If she had thought his voice was mesmerizing... his gaze held her for so long she didn't know how long she'd been staring at him when he said,

"I need her. I need her for my bride... I will keep her until she is ready."

"But master, what about –" started Verona.

"I can live five years with two brides," said Dracula, and turning to Lireela, "It will be worth it."

Please review! I will be posting the next chapter... hopefully soon