Bloodline

Chapter 1

Dylyn:

The trees become a blur as I sprint past them. The moonlight shines through the leaves, making them appear luminescent. I hear their paw steps as they pound close behind, their breath hot on the back of my neck. I look to my right and see my sister, breathing hard, holding the moonlight necklace.

"Quick, take it!" she yells to me just as a claw grabs her and pulls her back. 

"Jenna!" I scream as I catch the necklace. I am about to turn around when I'm pulled back by Sammy, my best friend. Her boyfriend, Drason, trailing behind. 

"Dylyn! Let's go!" she screams in my ear. She takes my arm and pulls me toward the gate. I hear my sister screaming as I am pulled between the metal doors. 

I watch through the gate as the werewolf pack crawled away. The sobs behind me purged into the distance as I hear my sister's wails soften and go quiet. I want to cry out in sorrow but something keeps my mouth shut. I feel something grow hot in the palm of my hand. I look down and see the stone glowing red against the pale skin that is my hand. The gold chain jingles as I fasten it to my neck. Immediately, a powerful sensation coarses through my body. 

"Dylyn?" Sammy asks coming up from behind me. She puts an arm around my shoulder, rubbing my back gently. "It's going to be okay. She is in a better place."

I wanted to scream. I felt all these emotions and I didn't know how to get them out. All I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and pretend that this never happened; hope that I will wake up from this terrible dream. I will be back home in my bed. I would stop my mother and father from arguing. Then Mom wouldn't have gone for a walk by herself and Dad would have stayed home instead of going to his friends house. If they stayed home, my sister and I would not be out here. We wouldn't have been kidnapped and turned into vampires. We wouldn't have been on the run for the past year. Our parents wouldn't still be looking for us. And we wouldn't be part of this feud between vampires and werewolves. My sister wouldn't have died and I wouldn't be here. I would be finishing senior year and going to my dream college, Fennel Bran College. If none of this happened, I wouldn't be a vampire!

I leaned against Sammy's shoulder trying to hold back my tears. I suddenly felt the presence of Ramayana, the leader of the Vampire High Council. "We are having a meeting in the courtyard of the Vampire Safe House. Sammy, Drason, gather everybody," she spoke proudly. Drason is the son of Ramayana and the best Sword Keeper in the vampire world. He is also next in line to be the leader of the council. 

I get up and follow the tide of vampires that are heading for the court yard. "Sorry," I blurt out as I bump into one vampire after another. The court yard is huge. The grass is greener than I've ever seen before, and in the center of the yard is a large stone made for a leader to stand on for announcements. Around the stone is a fountain that yields clear water that sparkles in the moonlight. I find a spot near the front of the crowd and watch as Ramayana unfolds her wings and flies gracefully up to the top of the rock. 

"As you know, we were just viciously chased into this Safe House by a large group of werewolves. I have sent out a patrol of our strongest warriors to make sure there are no stray wolves or injured vampires left. We have lost many loved ones that we will cherish in our minds forever," she bellows. "As leader of the Vampire High Council, I have decided that we, us vampires, will stay here for the remainder of the time. At least until we are certain we are safe. 

"I shall set up guards at each of the four gates. No vampire is to leave unless authorized by me. I don't want anymore dead or injured vampires on my watch. Do I make myself clear?" she asks. We all nod our head yes. "Good. Now, I want to continue with the training starting tomorrow. We can't be held back just because we aren't in our normal arena." Ramayana flew down from the rock and into the opening that the parting crowd provided. I carried myself over to Sammy, who was calling my name.

"Dylyn! There you are. Grafton said you are in dorm number 220, right next to the snack shack," she said.

"The snack shack?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, it's just like the blood bar at the other place. It's just called something different," Sammy explained.

"Oh... I get it." The Blood Bar was a place where we can go to get a small bag of blood or live prey. Usually I would go find a small animal and take a small portion of its blood. But I guess I can't do that today. I'm basically stuck inside a prison for...like...ever!

"Probably going to go crazy before I get out of this Safe House," I sigh as I walk into my dorm room. I gasp as I realize that my roommate is a...girl?!