Author's Note: Blood and disturbing scenes ahead.


Rayne had acted fast when the first sounds of the massacre downstairs were heard. She leapt off her bed to shut and lock her bedroom door, turned off her bedside lamp, and both she and Cathy hid under the bed; both girls whimpered and clung to each other as they listened helplessly to the screams and gunshots. Rayne and Catherine were both trembling when they heard multiple people coming upstairs. A woman issued a command in a foreign language, and her words were met with hissing and a confirmation in the same tongue. Aunt Mary could be heard pleading loudly for her and her children's lives before a single gunshot silenced her forever.

Only the wailing of the younger children could be heard, but one by one, they too were silenced. Footsteps rushed here and there on the floor, the cries of George, Ada, Pauline, and Betty ceasing not long after the movement had stopped. Jay was the last one to still be crying, his cries making a conversation between a man and a woman in the same unknown language barely audible to Rayne and Cathy, but he stopped when that same woman started singing a lullaby to him in a beautiful voice. Little Jay could even be heard cooing as the lullaby soothed him, and he did not make another sound after the lullaby's conclusion, and a baleful silence descended over the Baker-Malloye House. Of the eight souls who were on the house's second floor that night, Rayne and Cathy were the only two still drawing breath.

"Why did everyone stop crying?" Catherine whispered fearfully to her cousin, her voice trembling.

"I don't know."

The girls froze and inhaled sharply when they heard two people walking towards their door from Aunt Mary's room. The shadow of a long dress blocked out some of the light from the hallway lamps. Rattling could be heard coming from the doorknob, the harrowing sound resounding throughout the room, further scaring the two girls hiding beneath the bed. Foreign words muffled by the door could be heard, and after this brief exchange, Rayne and Cathy bore witness to the shadow under the door "lifting up" as if it were a stage curtain. The girls blinked and exchanged confused looks.

Did they really just see that? How did the person behind the door move like that without making any footfalls? What the girls did not see was the black cloud flowing into the room through the keyhole. The cloud floated above where Rayne and Cathy could not see it and it made its way to the right-side of the bed. Descending noiselessly to the floor, Ofelia materialized from that cloud and stood by the bedside.

A warm, pleasant-smelling breeze blew in from the open window, and the curtain fluttered gently with the current. Ofelia glanced around at the windows briefly before returning her attention back to the bed. She knew that Rayne and Catherine were hiding under there. Most young children lacked the courage to escape through an open window if it were more than one floor off the ground. They would naturally go for the easiest, most accessible hiding space like under a bed or inside a closet.

Besides, Ofelia swore she could almost smell the girls' fear. What an enticing and delicious aroma that was. Best of all, neither Rayne nor Cathy knew that Ofelia was there in the room there with them. Barely containing her excitement, Ofelia quietly stooped down to slip her right hand under the bed skirt. She slipped her arm through until half her forearm was under the bedframe, the back of her hand hovering over the oblivious Cathy and Rayne's backs.

Savoring the girls' obliviousness for about another minute, Ofelia calmly flipped the bed, mattress, frame, and all, over with one upward push. The bed landed with a great crash into an adjacent nightstand and dresser, the butterfly book Rayne had received from Arthur earlier that day slid down the mattress and fell to the floor between the dresser and now titled over bed. Rayne and Cathy screamed when the bed went flying, and they screamed even louder when they saw Ofelia standing over them with her eyes glowing like blue candlelight in the moonlit darkness.

"Hola, chicas." Ofelia greeted Rayne and Catherine whilst grinning. Terrified to the core of their souls, the two girls tried to make a break for the door only for Ofelia to seize them both by the collars of their pajamas. Rayne and Cathy struggled against Ofelia's grip, their hands wildly grabbing at the woman's fingers, wrists and forearms in a desperate attempt to free themselves crying "Let go!" repeatedly.

Unbelievably, Ofelia let Rayne go but kept hold of Cathy. A terrified Rayne dashed for the door. "Rayne!" Cathy cried out, snapping her cousin out of her fright. Rayne turned around, dropping the key she had fished out of her pocket. "Cathy!" Rayne cried out in turn and ran towards her cousin to try and save her.

Ofelia simply shook her head as Rayne sprinted towards her and Catherine. Rayne was only a step away from Cathy when a powerful impact sent her flying into the wooden underside of the flipped over bedframe. Ofelia had slapped Rayne across the face with an unnatural strength. Dazed and sore, Rayne tried to stand while cradling her stinging cheek, but Ofelia planted a foot on her stomach and pressed it down hard to keep Rayne pegged down. "Stay down." Ofelia commanded, her voice cold and hard, its earlier predatory playfulness gone.

"Rayne..." Catherine was whimpering, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Cathy..."

The glowing blue disks in Ofelia's eyes moved from Rayne to Catherine. Ofelia extended her hand towards her shivering prey and gently stroked the side of Cathy's face in a motherly fashion. Cathy stopped whimpering as she fell into a trance induced by Ofelia's hypnotic blue eyes and maternal caressing.

"Cathy?" Rayne whispered both fearfully and confusedly as she observed her cousin's sudden transition from fear to calmness. Ofelia praised Catherine's change with a "Buena nina."* Smiling proudly at the girl, Ofelia lowered her face down towards her neck, her mouth opening as her lips drew closer to Catherine's flesh. Soft puncturing could be heard in the stillness, which was soon followed with the sounds of Ofelia's breathing as she drank Catherine's blood.

Rayne looked on in horror as Ofelia drained her cousin of her life's blood. Cathy didn't move an inch from the time Ofelia's fangs pierced the side of her neck and after the last drop of her blood had been drunk. Ofelia released her victim's neck and licked her lips, wiping her mouth on her right sleeve. "Delicioso," she murmured. Ofelia glanced at Rayne, who was gaping at her, and Ofelia smirked; she pulled her foot away from Rayne; poor girl was too distraught to move or do anything.

Cold, vicious, and bloodthirsty at one moment, Ofelia's demeanor changed when she turned her attention back to the now deceased Catherine Humphrey. She snaked her right arm under Cathy's legs to carefully lay her down on the floor. Ofelia pressed the girl's legs together, crossed her arms over her chest, and fixed her hair. Rayne watched as this monstress paid her respects to the dead Cathy with numb awe and almost respect. Her eyes fell on her cousin, who, even though it was dark save for the moonlight that came through the window, appeared to be sleeping peacefully on the floor.

"Ella luce como un angel..."*

Rayne moved her gaze up to Ofelia's glowing one. She sounded sorrowful, almost remorseful over what she had done to Cathy. Ofelia swiveled her head to face Rayne, the cornflower lights seemingly boring holes into her. Ofelia stepped towards Rayne, who flinched and raised her hands up to defend herself. No strike or grab was made, and when Rayne opened her eyes and looked over her crossed arms, she saw that Ofelia was offering her hand to her.

It was the same hand that Ofelia had slapped Rayne with. "Take my hand, daughter of the Master. Take it." The tone she used was as pleasant as the sound of ocean waves crashing onto a beach. And yet, there was something sinister lurking in that tone, like a shark swimming in the depths of that very same ocean.

Ofelia gestured with her fingers for Rayne to take her hand. Rayne lowered her arms but did not move to take the vampire's hand. A pale eyebrow illuminated by the moonlight rose in impatience, but Ofelia did not voice any complaint or issue a command. Instead, the woman gently reached out to take one of Rayne's hands into hers. "Let me help you up..."

Rayne finally gripped Ofelia's hand into hers as she helped Rayne back onto her feet. Switching hands, Ofelia led a quiet and shaken Rayne to the bedroom door. Ofelia stopped in front of the door and waved her hand slowly in front of it. The tell-tale click of a door being unlocked was heard, and, with a "come here" gesture from Ofelia's right index finger, the door opened inward on its own. Pedro came into view after the door opened, the electric light from the hallway accentuated his pale features, beady eyes, and impeccable old-fashioned butler's suit. He was still carrying the pistol he had taken from Jimmy.

Rayne flinched when she saw the gun. Ofelia felt the tremor in Rayne's hand and she commanded Pedro in Spanish to step aside and hide the gun from the view of the Master's daughter. Pedro did as he was told, and he stepped out of view. His mistress advanced two steps towards the doorway when her foot landed on the key that Rayne had dropped earlier after Ofelia had flipped the bed over. "Heh, no necesito eso."* Ofelia said before kicking the key aside across the floor with her right foot.

Rayne watched as the key disappeared into the dark corner of her room until she was pulled out of the room by her hand. She followed Ofelia out into the hallway in shocked silence, her wide, frightened green eyes glancing from Pedro to the open bedroom doors on her left. In those rooms were monsters who were hovering over what Rayne knew were her younger cousins in their beds or cribs, the darkness of night mercifully obscuring whatever blood and gore was there. Rayne saw her Aunt Mary's body on her bed arranged in the same manner as Cathy's was, the only difference being she was holding a still Baby Jay in her arms. Odors of blood and gunpowder were detected in the air by Rayne's nose, and they only grew stronger as she walked down the stairs with Ofelia.

The two were rounding the curved newel post when Rayne saw the bodies of her stepfather and Uncle Tommy. She gasped when her eyes fell on the dark red blood and the still forms of her kinsmen, but Ofelia covered Rayne's eyes with her free hand and brought her close to her side in a protective, motherly way. "Don't look. There, there." Ofelia intoned with surprising compassion as she shielded her traumatized charge from the carnage. Rayne could not see through the cracks between Ofelia's fingers as she led her to the parlor.

Rayne heard her mother call out her name, an exclamation that was cut short by a pained hiss. Hiss or no hiss, hearing her mother's voice made Rayne's heart leap with hope and comfort. She was still alive. Ofelia removed her hand from Rayne's eyes and the young girl found herself standing in front of the parlor's couch with Ofelia standing behind her. Eliza was sitting on the left of a tall, large man who was gripping her arm tightly.

The Man was wearing a dark gray trench coat with a matching striped fedora. He was looking Rayne up and down with cold, critical silver-gray eyes. The Man's gaze made Rayne feel uncomfortable and small like she did when she was reprimanded by the Mother Superior two years ago, and she looked down at the rug that her bare feet were standing on, heeding not the overpowering stench of blood and the scattered ravaged bodies of her murdered family members.

"Come here, girl." the man commanded. Rayne, who was too intimidated to move, remained frozen in place on the floor. Displeased with Rayne's disobedience, the Man crushed Eliza's arm and growled out the word 'now'. Hearing her mother's whimper of pain motivated Rayne to approach the Man with her head still down. He extended his free hand to grasp Rayne's chin to lift her face up, then using his forefinger and thumb to part the girl's lips so he could see her fangs.

The Man nodded, a look of evil pride filling his face. "You certainly did make a lovely child for me, Eliza. Such pretty eyes and hair. Too meek and fearful and slightly disobedient, but I have a feeling it will outgrow those." The Man turned to face the captive Eliza. "What did you name it?"

Eliza said nothing at first, fear and trauma keeping her lips sealed. Narrowing his eyes in anger, the Man squeezed Eliza's already bruised left bicep and slightly shook her, repeating his question with impatient anger. Surprisingly, Eliza looked her rapist in the eye, her blue irises burning with an anger of her own. "Her name is Rayne, Rayne Amelia Malloye." Eliza emphasized greatly on her daughter's pronoun and name, furious that this bastard had called her beloved only child an "it".

The Man did not react externally to Eliza's anger. He simply nodded and said, "A pleasant name you have given our daughter. Very good."

Rayne narrowed her brow in confusion. "What?"

The Man and Eliza returned their attention to Rayne simultaneously. The anger in Eliza's eyes faded away, leaving behind nothing but a haunted darkness. The Man's eyes remained bright as he revealed the horrible truth to Rayne. "I see that your mother never told you about me. I am not sure what explanation she used to explain my absence in your life, but here I am now. Sweet little Rayne, I am your father, Kagan."

Rayne just stood there in total shock. This man, Kagan, was her father? Fathers are supposed to warm and kind, qualities that Rayne's stepfather Arthur possessed, but were clearly absent from this man who claimed to be her flesh and blood father. All Rayne could sense from her sire was evil and ruthlessness. Kagan was indifferent to his dhampir child's discomfort, and he resumed speaking to fill the silence that existed between them.

"I know there is no excuse as to why I have not been in your life for all these years, Rayne, but now I have come back to perform my most important duty as the vampire father of a dhampir child." Rayne squinted confusedly at Kagan's words; she'd heard of vampires but not dhampirs. What was a dhampir? Eliza shuddered at the mentioning of vampire and dhampir, words she had heard Sister Raymond utter in the delivery room when Rayne was born one decade ago. Nurse Angelica had screamed about dhampirs as she ran out of the room after she saw the caul on a then newborn Rayne's head...

"I heard from one of my minions a few years ago that your vampiric side was almost awakened earlier than planned, my dear. You were about to bite your victim, but a damn nun intervened and separated you two before your fangs could even break the little brat's skin. I am proud of you for acting on your instincts, Rayne, yet I am glad that your awakening was postponed until now." Kagan grinned then, displaying his sharp fangs to Rayne. He rose from the couch, his hand still clutching Eliza.

"And now, let us proceed with your awakening!"

Kagan violently pulled Eliza up off the couch and all but threw her onto the floor in front of their horrified daughter. Kagan straddled Eliza, grabbing her red hair and pulling her head up.

"Momma!" Rayne shrieked.

"Run, Rayne, run!" Eliza screamed.

Ofelia restrained Rayne before she could even ascertain an escape route. "No, you stay here." Ofelia said firmly, who squeezed Rayne's shoulders hard to make her stop struggling.

"Very good, Ofelia." complimented Kagan, earning him a loving, grateful look from Ofelia. He looked down at Eliza, who was whimpering and crying under his grasp. "Such terror." Kagan said gleefully, licking his lips. "Just like the night we first met..."

Kagan's words made Eliza tremble all over, and her crying morphed into sobbing. Rayne was crying too. Eliza's emotions were interrupted by a cut made to the right-side of her neck by one of Kagan's sharp, claw-like nails. Blood trickled down Eliza's neck, and Kagan pulled her head to the side so that Rayne could see it. The same magnetic pull that Rayne had felt when she saw Pauline's scratched and bloody hand the week before take hold of her when she saw her mother's blood.

Fresh, warm blood was flowing free from a living body, and there was nobody to hold Rayne back from drinking it this time. Rayne's eyes were transfixed by the blood on her mother's neck, and Eliza watched in horror as the green irises of her daughter's eyes glowed red and how she licked her lips. Rayne took a few steps forward, but she stopped suddenly and tried to backtrack only for Ofelia to grab her again. "Let's go." Ofelia said curtly as she pushed Rayne towards her mother and made her kneel before Eliza. Rayne was close now to the blood, its dark pull too powerful for the young dhampir to resist.

"Don't rebel, sweetheart," Kagan said with wicked encouragement disguised under a thin veneer of paternal affection, "let it take over. Become a full dhampir. Half-human, half-vampire. You will be an invaluable asset to my family, my child."

Powerful as her thirst was, Rayne's human emotions were still active, and the poor girl wept along with her mother as her open mouth moved closer to Eliza's neck. "Good girl." Kagan murmured proudly when Rayne sank her teeth into mother's neck and began to drink. Tasting human blood for the first time spurred Rayne's dormant instincts further, and she could not stop drinking the red essence that was her mother's life. Knowing her life was over, Eliza, who had been released by Kagan, wrapped her arms around Rayne. Even as her own child drained her of her blood, all Eliza could think to do in her last moments was to be a mother to Rayne.

"Rayne, my darling baby," Eliza whispered reassuringly and no less lovingly, "I love you and I forgive you. No matter what, I love you so much, so much..." Eliza repeated "I love you" over and over even as her voice faded. Slowly but surely, her embrace slackened against her daughter's body, her arms descending to the floor. "I... love... you..."

Eliza's final words were weak and faint, but the motherly love they carried could still be felt by Rayne as she drank the last drop of her mother's blood. Rayne released her mother's neck when no more blood came to her fangs, and she held Eliza in her arms in mute shock. "Momma? Mom?" Rayne whispered softly.

Eliza did not move or make a sound. Her head was resting against Rayne's right shoulder, and Rayne could not feel her mother exhaling against her. Kagan stepped away from Eliza's corpse and observed the tragic scene with an expression of sick pride on his face. "Well done, my child. You are now complete. Welcome to my family."

Rayne barely registered what her father was saying as the horrific realization of what she had just done started sinking in as her senses came back to her. Shock gave way to horror, revulsion, and grief all at once. Tears fell from Rayne's still glowing eyes, the drops falling onto her mother's back, leaving dark little spots on Eliza's dress. Ofelia knelt over Rayne and reached out to her.

"There, there, Rayne..." Ofelia murmured softly. Hearing a maternal sounding voice made Rayne look up. "Let me help you up, amor..." Ofelia carefully extricated Rayne from her mother's body and helped her up; Kagan made no move to support Eliza's body to keep her upper torso from falling to the floor or to even comfort their bereaved child.

Ofelia's motherly face lit up as she wiped the corner of Rayne's mouth with her right thumb. She then displayed the blood-smeared tip of her thumb to Rayne, not to taunt her, but to show-off the blood out of pure, twisted pride over what the young dhampir had done. "The first blood to grace your lips! Didn't it taste good, mi nina?"

Seeing the blood on Ofelia's thumb hammered in the cruel reality that Rayne was now living in. She covered her face and screamed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She ran from Ofelia, tripping over her grandmother's body in the process. Rayne, although stunned, was nevertheless able to get back up on her feet and continue her escape; neither Ofelia nor Kagan made any move to stop her.

Pedro did though, and he blocked Rayne as she made her way to the front door, and he grabbed her. Rayne struggled against the manservant's grip, and that's when she noticed that her nails now possessed a claw-like appearance. The short-statured Pedro was stooping over Rayne, who took advantage of the situation by poking Pedro in his left eye with the nail of her right index finger. The nail pierced the manservant's eye, causing him to scream in pain and let go of Rayne. Freed from Pedro's clutches, Rayne gunned it for the door, all but ripping it open and taking off down the porch steps in the blink of an eye.

She ran straight ahead between the parked cars in the front yard, past the barn, and through the woods. A shouted command could be heard along with animalistic growling and snarling and rapid footfalls tailing after Rayne as she made her escape. She was being pursued. Trees, shrubs, and plants passed by in a blur as Rayne ran at a supernatural speed that surprised her, though her equally supernatural pursuers were not too far behind. It was as if Rayne was a fox trying to escape a pack of foxhounds, all that was missing was shrill barking and the din of a bugle. Rayne resisted the urge to look back, focusing on the terrain in front of her hoping against all hope that she would get to safety somewhere nearby.

Rayne's already racing heart leapt with joy when she saw the spire of St. Mark's Catholic Church in the moonlight. But a ravine with a dry creek bed stood between Rayne and the hill that the church stood on. But Rayne was desperate, and she jumped as soon as she reached the edge of the ravine. Against all odds, the ten year old was able to leap over the sixteen-foot gap and reach the other side as if she were an Olympic long jumper. Oblivious to the monumental feat she had just accomplished, Rayne continued her run, her pursuers gaining on her.

She climbed up the hill just as the other vampires leapt over the ravine, reaching the top just as they were rushing to the foot of the hill. Rayne stumbled into the churchyard and sprinted the last few feet to the entrance. She flung herself at the red double-doors, only to find them locked.

"Damn it! No!" Rayne cried as she pulled and fiddled with the door handles.

"Maldicion!"*

The voice belonged to Ofelia. Rayne slowly turned around and saw Ofelia, Kagan, Pedro, and their two surviving vampire minions. They were standing twelve feet away from Rayne. Panting, sweating and fearful, Rayne then remembered from fairy tales how vampires couldn't stand holy things. The holiness of St. Mark's was keeping these fiends away from Rayne. Was there still a God after all?

Rayne's eyes darted across the five vampires, whose eyes were glowing red and blue. Kagan and Ofelia were calm and unruffled, as if they had walked to St. Mark's instead of running to it. Pedro was breathing heavily, but that was most likely from both anger over Rayne blinding him in one eye, which was shut tight and bleeding, and frustration since he now could not get his hands on Rayne again. The two vampire minions were panting like dogs. It was an odd standoff.

"Rayne," Ofelia called out as she held out her arms to the girl, "you have nothing to fear. Come with us. You don't belong with humans anymore; you belong here with us. Join us and you will never feel afraid or powerless again, mi amor."

Ofelia's words had no effect on Rayne; she wasn't buying that murderous bitch's motherly act anymore. Ofelia saw how Rayne was resisting her, and her amiable façade fell into one of displeasure. A gun being cocked broke the silence that fell between Rayne and Ofelia.

"Step away from the church, or I will shoot you." Pedro threatened, his remaining eye fixed hatefully on Rayne, the barrel of her Uncle Jimmy's pilfered gun aimed straight at her. "God's house won't keep you safe from bullets."

"Put the gun down, Pedro, and let Rayne be." The order was given by Kagan. Pedro looked as if he were going to complain before thinking better of it and lowering his weapon. Kagan's glowing eyes shifted from his lover's manservant to his trembling daughter. Rayne couldn't tell what her father was thinking, then again, she didn't really want to know; no doubt Kagan's thoughts about her were unpleasant.

"She will come to me someday. Most of them do." Kagan said nonchalantly in a husky voice. "It takes time for dhampirs to accept their fathers, but their eternal lifespans give them plenty of time to think things over." He turned around to head down the road.

"Let's go." Kagan commanded with a wave of his arm. The other vampires turned to follow their leader. A white fog set in and obscured the group. While Rayne could no longer see Kagan or the others, she could hear his voice carrying over through the fog.

"Take your time, Rayne. Sooner or later, you will grow up and realize that no one else will accept you in this cruel, unforgiving world of ours except for me. Once you realize that, seek me out and join your real family. In the meantime, my dear, take good care of yourself and enjoy your newfound powers. Farewell."

Kagan's voice died away the further he traversed until a heavy silence descended. The fog lifted, and the air was filled with the sounds of crickets and peepers again. Rayne blinked as she took in the empty space where her father and pursuers had been standing only a few moments ago. Trembling, she hesitantly peeled herself away from the church door. She walked down the three steps that led to the door, looking around anxiously in case she was going to be ambushed from the shadows of the woods on Rayne's right or from the graveyard to her left.

Nothing happened. Nobody came. Rayne was alone. A great numbness filled Rayne's being. She felt so lost and empty.

What should she do now? Where could she go? There was only one place she could go to... Placing one foot ahead of the other, Rayne slowly walked down from the church to the main road and up the lane to the Baker-Malloye Farmhouse. She passed by her Uncle Charlie's car and the mutilated remains of the vampire that Uncle Harold had shot dead, a sight that Rayne did not react to.

She was still numb even as she walked up the front porch steps and into the house where the bodies of her family lay about in pools of dark blood in one or two pieces. Rayne stood over her mother's body, where she had remained since Rayne's flight, and contemplated the tragic sight. Tears welled up in her eyes again, which were green once more, and she laid down next to her mother. Rayne draped her mother's arm over her, and she cried into Eliza's shoulder, murmuring "I'm so sorry, mommy. I'm so sorry" until she finally fell asleep...


*Buena nina: Spanish for "Good girl".

*Ella luce como un angel: Spanish for "She looks like an angel."

*No necesito eso: Spanish for "No need for that."

*Maldicion: Spanish for "damn".


What has Changed:

1. Catherine's death is seen. She was killed offscreen in the original story.