APOV

"That human is going to pay for what she has done," Jane seethed.

My sister never shouted, and always preferred to allow her gift to speak for her, but she was livid after discovering the human was still residing in the city. She ventured out alone after sending Demetri, and immersed herself in the crowd, only to find that her vengeful gift of pain did not work on the human. I was livid as well, and the fact that Jane was upset only added to it. I walked to her, placing my hands on her shoulders.

"Sister, I am just as appalled as you are," I said, trying to soothe her. "There were many humans around. Were you distracted by their scents?" She looked up at me, the flaring anger toning down on her face.

"When am I ever distracted, brother? I am always focused," she said, narrowing her eyes at me. "Do you question my abilities?"

"Of course not," I assured her. "You are the most clever girl. I am only worried for you. We will find another way to torment the human. When she arrives, then she will be all ours."

Mostly yours, a voice mocked me, and I willed it away.

The human was not my mate, no matter what Aro said. It was unsettling enough to see Heidi, Demetri and Felix make up her bedroom, and Marcus to give me a knowing glance that displeased me.

"Brother, she is not a pet," Jane sneered. "She is food. I do believe you're starting to waver your priorities." I sighed, though the oxygen was not necessary, and kissed my sister's forehead.

"Jane, Heidi will be here soon with our dinner. We most likely will not be here when she arrives. We are going on assignment tonight, remember? A few vampires have committed a crime near northern India," I explained indifferently.

"You will use your gift as you please when we return," I smiled at the end, hoping to comfort her. I succeeded as I saw her smile dangerously. She lifted her chin to me.

"Dear Alec, you always were the rational one," she said quietly. Her perfect tiny smile stood perfectly in place on her full, rosy lips that were identical to mine. She wound her tiny arms around me in an embrace, her head leaning against my chest. "I love you, brother."

"As I love you, sister," I said smoothly, holding her to me. "As I love you."

"Promise me, Alec," Jane said. "You must promise me you will not mate with the human." She pulled back and looked up at me.

I would give her the world if I could. I would die if it meant she got to live. How could a meaningless human ever compare to her?

When we returned from our assignment to northern India, I would be sure to agonize and ignore the human. Jane is the only person I truly love in any way. She was my only family, and the only person I ever needed. And that's how it always would be.

"I promise, sister. I will never love anyone else."

CPOV

"David, come on, it's nine. You have to get up if you wanna go see the town," I said, shaking his bare shoulder. He was practically hanging off the bed with his hair splattered in his face. He might have had too much room service ice cream last night after the show, resulting in the ultimate sugar crash. He and Travis promised not to drink when we went on the road, so ice cream was David's substitute. I heard him grumble something.

"No, mom," he mumbled, turning his head the other way. "Later."

"Come on, man," Travis tried to help. "We're gonna eat all the Italian food without you."

"David," I tried again, shaking him a little harder. "Get up, man. We're running out of time. We'll put Doritos on your pizza."

He whipped his head around toward us then, eyes wide open.

"For real?" He said, trying to get past the sleep in his voice. His light brown hair was in his eyes and sticking out in all directions. I nodded.

"Yep," Travis said, trying not to laugh, but I let one slip.

"Nacho cheese on your pizza," I agreed. "You in?"

"Hell yes, I'm in!" he said, grinning and scrambling out of bed. He ran into the bathroom. "Dibs on the shower first!" I heard before he slammed the door.

"Do you think he noticed that we already showered?" I asked.

"Nope," Travis said, laughing, and went to go watch TV. We were going to check out the rest of Volterra before we had to leave for our flight at two. Cassie had apologized for Robert leaving last night and decided to change the flight time after we met the agents, who were letting us see the town today. Er, well, the agent of choice.

"Hi, Phillip Mays, wonderful to meet you. You were great," one of the agents said enthusiastically, shaking each of our hands. He was shorter than me, standing at 5'3" with a comb-over of brown hair and blue eyes. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, and he was wearing a fancy suit. The other three agents introduced themselves. The one next to Phillip was tall and lean, about my brother's height, with golden blonde hair that was perfectly coiffed, and blue eyes.

To be blunt, he was utterly gorgeous.

He looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties. He shook my hand, and offered me a charming, heart-stopping grin.

"Danny Richfield, miss," he said, lightly shaking my hand as if it was delicate. "I must say you have quite the voice. I was more than impressed with your performance. And may I say your name is as beautiful as you are." He leaned down, placing a kiss on the back of my hand, and then David and Travis were in front of me.

"David Cross, man, good to meet you too," he said, roughly shaking his hand. I could see him glaring at Danny. "Look at her like that again-"

"Daniel, please have some manners," Cassie chided, interrupting David.

I glanced at her, mentally thanking her. Danny flashed a mischievous grin at her as if they were old friends.

"Sorry, 'Siesie," he said. "I know a beautiful girl when I see one."

"And you shall see your unemployment papers when I mail them," she deadpanned, raising her eyebrow. He quickly lost his grin and turned to David, shaking his hand and mumbling a greeting before shaking Travis's hand.

"That's my sister," he warned Danny, as I was shaking the last agent's hand.

"Hello," the last agent said quietly, shaking my hand gently. "Your performance was exceptional."

"Thank you," I said politely, waiting for his name, but it never came. He simply released my hand and folded his hands in front of him.

"I apologize, this is Ned," Cassie said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He's a man of few words, but he's very impressed with you all."

I nodded my understanding.

"We flew all the way from Los Angeles when Cassie called us," Phillip said in his cheery voice, taking control of the conversation after we all shook hands. He put his hands in his pockets. "It was well worth the trip."

I remembered what Robert said about them being above him, and wondered if all three of them were going to follow us to Rome. Would they all argue on who got us?

"You'd be very good in Vegas," Danny piped in, raising a perfect eyebrow.

"Daniel," Cassie said again. His grin faltered and re-worded his sentence.

"I mean you would gather the attention of everybody," he said through gritted teeth.

"So, you ever considered performing anywhere else? Disneyland, perhaps?" Phillip said, grinning hugely. His mouth almost outstretched his entire face, and it was kind of creepy.

"Robert said we weren't gonna be signed," David said confusedly, flashing his eyes between him and Cassie. Danny chose to laugh out loud then, throwing his head back and clapping his hands.

"Robert? Oh, that's grand, sure," Danny exploded with laughter, and I swear he sounded British for a minute. "Robert giving in to a request. That's lovely, really."

"Actually, he did say that," Cassie said calmly, looking at David. "These three men know that, but they wanted to come and see you perform. They hold special reservations for other locations. I'm sorry Robert had to leave on such short notice; he had other business to attend to. But I promised him I would pass the message along for your request to remain more private."

"Oh yeah, we understand completely," Phillip said pompously. He had a loud voice for someone shorter than me. "We were just glad we got the opportunity! I reaaaallly liked that explosive song at the end. Veeeery impressive, and out of the box!" He wagged his finger at us with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile.

"And may I add that your rendition of Iris was glorious. I liked the touch," Danny added after his laughing fit. "It was magical. You have a very good range."

"Thanks," I said, not used to receiving so many compliments. I was totally unsure of what else to say. This was a lot.

"Yeah, well, if you're shitting us again-excuse me-" David said to Cassie. "Then we're going back. We already made our choice."

"Yeah. So, what's the idea here?" Travis asked, getting just as frustrated as him. Danny shrugged.

"Easy," he said. "Wherever you wanna go next, we take you there. Think of us as chauffeurs. We may be music agents, but Cassie here makes sure all her clients are comfortable."

"When you depart to Rome tomorrow, one of them will go with you. I will have to return to my office in Los Angeles. I will, however, make sure that they fulfill all your requests. You will not be signed a contract unless you so choose, and they will even let you return home. If you choose not to be signed and choose to be on your own, we will completely respect your decision. Robert thought you would be interested in becoming more public when he met you all. I apologize for the misunderstanding," Cassie said sincerely.

"It is up to you who will go with you to Rome. They all have special reservations under my name, and will let you decide where you want to travel after you perform in Rome." She finished.

First Robert left, now Cassie is? And not to mention, leaving us with complete strangers? I furrowed my eyebrows. This wasn't making any sense.

"I know this seems like a lot," she spoke again, clearly seeing my expression. "I will completely understand if you choose to leave for home at this point. We sprung this on you so quickly."

I opened my mouth for a split second to speak, but decided against it and shook my head. I didn't want to make it more complicated for her. She'd already done so much. Telling her I was uncomfortable with these strangers might lead her to call in more agents, and I didn't want that.

"So who's going with us?" David asked flatly, his eyes boring into Danny.

Well, we all know who he didn't want. Travis looked at me and nudged my shoulder with his own.

"Who do you think?" he asked me. I shrugged.

"Who do you guys think?" I asked back, glancing between them. David's eyes scanned over the three choices.

"I'll keep my distance if that's what ya'll need. No problem," Phillip busted out, holding up his hands. "I'm very distance respectable. And if you want time for activities, I'm there. I gotta keep you in my sights, though."

Danny lifted his brow and glanced sideways at Phillip, clearly unimpressed. He flashed us a proud smile then, all traces of it gone.

"Of course, I'll make sure you get where you need to go, eat when you want, and have your privacy. I like to take care of my guests," he said easily, and his eyes flashed to me for a second. "And I'm serious about my work, believe it or not. I get you to Rome, you perform, then you decide from there. I'll even book an extra stay in the hotel if you like." He shrugged. David rolled his eyes. I looked to Ned last, unsure if he would say anything.

"As the other three have said, I will tend to your every whim," he said quietly. "I'll take you where you need to go, feed you when you want to eat, and anything else."

All three were capable of their jobs, no doubt. The problem was that David didn't like Danny, I was unsure myself, and Travis looked like he already had his choice. They were all very nice, but I couldn't judge their characters. I couldn't judge anybody. They did so much for us. They shouldn't have to do so much. We're just three simple people, and I didn't understand it. Travis looked to me, his finger resting on his chin.

"What do you think?" he asked again. I looked over Phillip, Danny and Ned.

"Ned," David said tonelessly. He looked to me, his eyes flat. "What do you think, dudette? Who's good for the job?"

"You guys pick," I said, looking at them both. "I trust you."

With that, I walked away, letting my band mates decide. My head was reeling with all of these decisions, and I just needed a breather.

My phone started vibrating, and I pulled it out of my shorts pocket. I didn't recognize the number, and warily answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello," Ned answered back in his quiet voice, and I felt some relief. "I was just calling to see if you all were ready to go. I'm waiting down in the lobby for you."

"Oh," I said, looking around the room. Travis's attention was diverted away from the TV and on me now.

"Who is it?" he mouthed, remote in hand. I mouthed back.

"Ned." I heard the bathroom door open and a wet David scrubbing his hair with a towel came out. I went to the window and looked down. Sure enough, there was a fancy black Escalade waiting outside the hotel.

"Yes, we're ready. We'll be down in just a minute. Thanks, Ned," I replied nicely.

"Of course," he replied back, and we hung up. I turned around and David was digging his finger in his ear.

"Who was that?" He asked, looking at his finger. He looked rather intrigued at whatever he dug out of his ear.

"It was Ned, we have to go. He's waiting in the lobby, so you might wanna put your shoes on," I said. He nodded distractedly, never taking his eyes off his finger, and left to go find them. Travis was up from his spot on the couch, stretching.

"What are we seeing first?" I asked my brother while unplugging my charger. He shrugged, fixing his shirt.

"I dunno. We'll see when we get there," he said. I didn't want to keep Ned waiting; we were already getting so much and we were on a time limit. I was also a little anxious to be leaving so soon because of the boy and the girl I saw at both my performances. I didn't know who they were, but I couldn't shake the feeling pooling around in my gut.

Pale skin. It was so pale. The eyes were the exact same color, only because they were contacts. And...

"I hate you. So much."

There was only one explanation for the boy's teeth at my neck.

Unless he was just really kinky, and it was all just some sort of strange, sexual roleplay.

"All right, let's hit the town, dudes!" David said excitedly, clapping his hands together. "I wanna get outta here and to Rome ASAP!"

"Lez do it," Travis said. "You have everything?"

"Yep!" David said. I looked around the room before nodding and we left the room, beds made, towels in the bathroom, TV off and furniture fixed. All the way down the elevator to the lobby, David and Travis were arguing about where to eat when lunch came around. Ned was waiting for us, his hands folded in front of him. He was a little taller than Phillip, maybe five foot seven.

"You said I could put Doritos on it!" David argued.

"We said that to get you out of bed!" Travis argued back as Ned checked us out of the hotel. He didn't talk much, and when he did, it was only when he was asking us questions. I decided to eavesdrop on Travis and David's conversation to ease my nerves.

"You can't put Doritos on everything," Travis said, trying to reason with him. "Plus, you were fine the other day when we had the meat lover's pizza."

"That was before you gave me the idea of Doritos on pizza!" David was almost yelling now. He got very passionate about Doritos. It was almost concerning, but way too funny to stage an intervention for. I turned to them.

"Guys," I said over David, earning their attention. "Let's try something other than pizza today. We can find one of those food carts. Maybe they'll have sandwiches or tacos or something." I tried to resolve their argument.

"And you can eat your Doritos with it," I added at the end and shrugged. "I don't wanna argue before another gig."

"See? You're fine," Travis said to David, motioning his arms to me. "It's not the end of the world, bro."

"Oh yeah," David said like he just remembered something. "Sweet! Are we getting breakfast first though?" He patted his stomach.

"We have to ask Ned, dude," Travis said, pointing to Ned, who just finished checking us out.

"I know a place," He said quietly. I nodded at him and he began making his way to the door. "Follow me, then."

We all followed him, me leaving Travis and David behind to catch up to him.

Ned opened the passenger's side door for me, while Travis and David got in the back. The tour bus was being driven to Rome by Danny, whereas we would be flying there.

"Thanks," I said, sliding into the seat. I didn't want Ned to feel awkward while Travis and David discussed which of the latest rock albums were the best.

"When we get to town, we'll go to a cafe that serves the best crepes," Ned informed us, buckling his seatbelt.

"Aw, yes! I love you, Ned!" David exclaimed. Ned glanced between David and I before starting the car silently.

"Dude, dude," Travis mumbled, putting his hand on David's shoulder and shaking his head. We pulled out of the hotel's drive and onto the road. Town square was only half an hour away, and that half hour trip currently consisted of the boys now discussing which drumming techniques were the best, and a silent Ned and me in the front. That is, until he spoke up for the first time without being addressed first.

"I think it's admirable that you refused to be signed," he admitted, almost sheepishly. I turned my head from the window to the windshield. "Not everybody turns Cassie down like that."

"Um, thanks," I replied awkwardly. Not everybody in the world who sang signed for a record deal, so why was it such a surprise?

"You've got a true gift," he said, glancing at me. "Cassie has high standards. Not everyone catches her eye. Not anyone who doesn't need auto tune, anyway."

I had to chuckle at that as it lightened my mood a little. I didn't know if he was joking about the auto tune, but it was funny to me. I never worried about auto tune or makeup or perfect outfits because it wasn't important. I loved the goosebumps on my skin when I got into a song and seeing my two best guys smiling with me when we performed. I loved the sweat and Guitar Hero mode.

When we finally reached town, and Ned parked in an appropriate spot, David bolted out of the car immediately, stretching his legs. He was almost Travis's height, just a couple of inches shorter. They were both taller than me, nonetheless.

"Man, my legs," he groaned, stretching himself. I looked around, but didn't see a restaurant. There were small shops, boutiques, and people on foot with shopping bags.

"The restaurant is down a block," Ned said, pressing the lock button on the car, resulting in a high beep sound. "We aren't allowed to park directly in town square."

"A whole block?" David groaned. "I'm gonna starve!"

I rolled my eyes and smiled while Travis clapped him on the back.

"You'll be fine," he said like he was rolling his eyes too. "You won't even notice the distance with all the girls around."

"Follow me," Ned said, heading in the direction towards the center of town. We all followed while Travis held David's attention with the subject of Italian girls. His eyes roamed around ambitiously, scoping them out.

Suddenly, I wondered if that boy was Italian. He had dark hair like an Italian. But there was the slight British/English accent that he had when he spoke to me. His voice was so smooth, so perfect. His features were as well. High cheekbones, full lips...

Is my heart beating faster?

Okay, snap out of it.

He tried to eat you. But if that girl from the concert was pale, why didn't she try to eat me, too?

Enough, you're over thinking. Forgetting about it, remember? Forgetting!

Just look at the nice scenery.

The cobblestone, the buildings, the shops. I didn't know if we'd ever come back to Italy to perform, but I knew when we got to Rome that I would be taking a lot of pictures. Especially of the Colosseum.

"The restaurant's not far from here," Ned said after five minutes of walking.

"Really? Where?" David said, tearing his eyes away from all the females.

"Maybe there's a music store here," Travis mused. "I could get new drum sticks."

"There's one in town. I'll allow you to shop for a while until we leave," Ned replied.

"Aw, dude, we could get some new equipment! Remember you said your snare needed a new screw too?" David said.

"Yeah, but it depends on how much it is," Travis said. "We still have the money Robert gave us, don't we?"

"I have it," I said absentmindedly, looking around at all the shops. I had gotten the money out of Travis's pants from the first gig so I could keep track of it. We had only used it on the restaurant we went to after that first gig, so we had plenty left. I would probably buy some sort of top to wear for Rome or something. We didn't pack much clothing, as we didn't plan to stay this long.

"How much is there?" Travis asked.

"Around five hundred euros left," I said absentmindedly as we entered the restaurant.

It was a quaint little place with coffee colored walls and a Starbucks sort of look. It was half full of people, but Ned got us into a booth.

"So, what's good here, Neddy?" David asked casually. He opened his menu and his face twisted into confusion. "Man, it's all in Italian!"

Ned didn't react to the nickname and casually looked over his own menu.

"I can translate for you, but I recommend the crepes with fresh fruit," Ned replied indifferently. "Their mascarpone comes from a small, local farm a town over."

I looked over my own menu. I had only ever had crepes from IHOP because my mom loved them. I could make out some words on the menu since Spanish words were similar to Italian words in some ways. I was busy trying to decide between a frittata and the crepes Ned mentioned, when the waiter came up and started talking in Italian.

"English, please," Ned said politely, looking up at the waiter.

"Ah. You are American," the waiter said, taking out a notepad. "My apologies. Welcome to Volterra! My name is Anthony. What can I get for you to drink this morning?" He looked over all of us and smiled.

"Do you guys have milk?" Travis asked a little sheepishly.

"Of course," Anthony said, writing it down.

"I'll have some tea. No cream, please," Ned said simply.

"Yeah, I'll have some milk too," David said, trying to decipher the words on the menu like it was a puzzle. I looked up from my menu, having made my decision as Anthony looked at me.

"Water, please," I said, closing my menu. He nodded and smiled, writing it down.

"I will get that out for you right away," he said, leaving us to pick our meals.

"Dude, Ned, man. I can't read any of this, it's all foreign," David groaned, giving up. He plopped his menu on the table.

"If it helps, frutta is fruit, latte is milk, pane is bread, and so on," I said. "And acqua is water."

"You speak Italian?" Ned asked in his quiet voice, but for once, he sounded a little surprised. Although, if he was, he didn't let it show very much.

"I took Spanish in high school. Some words in Italian are similar," I said. "I can only assume what the words are."

"," Travis replied with a grin. I smiled back and Ned just nodded before tending to David to help.

David blew out a breath and set his menu down, closing it after a few minutes. Ned was settled back in his chair, and I saw Anthony coming back with our drinks. He set them down in front of us and asked us if we were ready to order. We all nodded, and he took our orders.

"Okay," Anthony said, writing it and taking up our menus. "Can I offer you some biscotti or a pastry before your breakfast comes?"

Ned shook his head and politely declined, as did the rest of us, and Anthony left us. Ned stirred his tea before taking a sip of it.

"How did you all decide to form a group?" Ned asked quietly, putting his tea cup down. "For only having four years experience, you pass the top singers; individually, and together."

"Well..." I began hesitantly. "When our dad passed away, we wanted to handle our grief in a better way. So, we decided to do it through music. We've all known each other for a long time, so we just made it a group effort."

"And man, I don't regret it one bit," David said, slapping Travis on the back. "These guys are my best buds right here."

"That's quite a story," Ned said, his surprise not very well hidden this time. "My condolences. Your father had great taste in music if you grew up listening to classics. Who is your favorite?"

"Eagles," Travis and I said simultaneously. Ned nodded his approval.

"I noticed that from your performance," he said. "We haven't ever had someone perform Don Henley before, especially a young group like you. We were all impressed, especially Cassie. She believes you could take the world by storm. In all her years of music producing, she was shocked for the first time in a long time."

"Are you mad at us for not becoming famous? 'Cause dude, we just like jammin'," David explained exasperatedly. He probably thought Ned was going to try to talk us into it like Robert did. I felt a rustle under the table; Travis must have kicked him.

"I'm not mad. It's not my decision," Ned said, flashing his palms. "Like I said before, I actually admire that you all are not agreeing to it. Performers can easily be swayed by all of the fame and often go off the deep end."

"I mean, we would surely want to perform other places," I said. "We haven't been performing for very long at all, compared to other people."

"We just prefer to stay small, and take our time. We're in no hurry to jump into any deals just yet," my brother added.

Ned nodded his head in understanding.

"We get that," he said. "Robert just didn't expect you to decline. He's used to people saying yes to money and free service. Cassie, however, decided to be generous and extend your trip. She is highly convinced that you all hold exceptional potential."

"How come we're here and not somewhere in Texas or something?" David asked. "It doesn't make sense. I mean, coming all the way to another country is a big deal. It takes years for bands to be able to play in places like this. Why us?"

Funny how we did come here, and now, in the back of my mind, I was hoping not to cross the paths of two pale teenagers.

"I'm not sure," Ned said, drinking his tea again. "I believe Cassie was on her way to Italy in the first place before your location was picked. Phillip, Danny and I were in our offices when we were called, and she had left already."

I wondered if we would see Cassie again. Where would we go after Rome? Would we get to come back to Italy if we chose?

When no one said anything, Ned changed the subject.

"So," he began as if the silence never occurred. "Is there anything specific you'd like to shop for? I heard you talking about a music store and new equipment."

"Is there a music store here?" Travis asked. I zoned out while looking outside of the restaurant. There were people shopping, talking, and going in and out of other stores. My mind couldn't help but anxiously search for the boy and girl, though I knew they wouldn't be here. I was just being way too paranoid. We would be out of here tomorrow. No big deal.

When I focused again, we all had plates in front of us. David was already eating, while Ned was holding his fork and looking at me. Travis was doing the same.

"You okay?" Travis asked. I blinked and then nodded, looking down at my plate. My veggie quiche looked as fancy as ever; I almost couldn't eat it. I picked up my fork and ate my first Italian breakfast. Ned warily looked down at his own plate to eat, and Travis seemed to buy my answer.

XxX

"Where is he?" Travis said, looking all around town square. I just got done buying a top from one of the clothing stores and met up at the fountain like we agreed. We all decided to split up and shop where we wanted to, while Ned took a call from our performance location in Rome. We had been waiting for about ten minutes, which was past the time that we agreed to meet back. I pulled my phone out and checked the time. It was close to eleven thirty, and we'd be leaving at one. We needed to get to the airport before our flight left. I handed Travis my shopping bag.

"I'll go find him," I said. "I think I have an idea where he is."

"Hurry," he said, taking my bag. "We gotta leave. I'll tell Ned when he comes back."

I nodded and headed to the left to try and look for him. I jogged, scanning over all the shops and sidewalks for any sign of David. I got further and further away from the fountain, and into the now big crowd of people that filled town square. I was constantly excusing myself, and pushing through people.

"Come on, David," I muttered to myself. Finally, after pushing through enough people, I spotted his light brown hair in a crowd being led by someone. The crowd was far away, almost too far, and seemed to be heading towards what looked like an old, ancient castle. I ran as fast as I could towards the crowd to catch David, pushing my legs as hard and fast as they would go.

"Wrong day to take a tour, David," I huffed to myself through my heavy breathing.

I so needed to hit the gym when I got back home. I hadn't been since we left.

I caught up just as the front of the crowd was entering the building, and wormed my way through the back and tugged on David's sleeve. I heard a few outbursts in Italian from my pushing, but I ignored them and focused on catching my breath.

"We have to go," I said, whispering. "You were supposed to meet us, and Travis is mad."

He turned his head as if he was just now noticing me.

"Dudette, when'd you get here?" he asked. I guess he didn't hear me the first time.

"We have to go, Travis is mad!" I whisper yelled, trying to tug him out of the crowd. "We don't have time to take a tour. We need to get to the airport soon!"

"The Volturi castle is perhaps the oldest building standing in Volterra," a woman's voice came from the front of the crowd. We were now inside the apparent castle, walking down a dimly lit corridor. Everyone was staring with wide eyes and making comments. "Please, no flash photography. These walls and pictures are very old."

"Oh, shit," he whispered. "Sorry. She just said the tour was free, and I couldn't help it." He looked around at the castle just like everyone else was doing. I tugged on his wrist and started to turn back, but when I did, two men clad in black were guarding the end of the crowd. They were pale.

Unnaturally pale.

With red eyes.

Perfect features.

I felt my breath hitch in my throat.

The man on the left had dark-ish brown, straight hair, and was big. Huge. And tall, so tall. He had a little smile on his face while he walked smoothly in step with the shorter, much leaner man next to him.

He was built too, with spiky pale brunette hair. His eyes flicked to me, and his own smile faltered. He held my gaze and I tore mine away, facing the front again.

I didn't realize we'd stepped into another room. It was huge, and made almost completely out of white marble. The floors were shiny, the space was vast, and towards the back wall sat three men in large chairs, who were also clad in black.

The man in front had straight, jet black hair that sat to his chest. He looked like he was in his mid thirties. He also had the unnaturally pale complexion and red eyes. The man to the left of him looked utterly bored, but he had just the same features as the men behind me and the man in the center. His wavy, brown hair ended past his shoulders, and he looked significantly older than the first guy. The man to the right looked to be the youngest, with snowy blond hair and an angry, evil expression. His eyes seemed to glow with hunger and malice.

I swallowed when my eyes fell upon two familiar figures I hoped to not see.

The boy. And the girl.

They stood side by side, clad in black, with capes hugging their shoulders. Their eyes matched the others' terrifying red.

I gulped audibly, truly convinced that my heart had stopped.

This was not good. And I had been right. He wasn't human. They weren't human.

"Holy shit," David whispered, folding his hand around my hand that was holding onto his sleeve. "We gotta get outta here."

"We do thank you for touring with us," I heard the woman croon in her seductive voice, before all the pale figures lunged at the crowd.

That's when the traumatizing screams and bloodshed began.

So, David was obviously lured by Heidi to take the tour. What do we think? Bad David, I hate you David, or It's okay, David? Ah, he didn't know any better . But this is where it all begins.