The Prophecy
The Past

I don’t know how long I stood there,alongside a very skilled murderer, wondering how I had gotten here. Did I takea wrong turn when I was younger, travel a dangerous path that I didn’t see, orwrong somebody that never forgot? I was a simple housewife and mother from asmall town in Arizona.Things like this didn’t happen to people like me.

I stood beside a man who I couldn’tquite yet say saved me. He wasn’t as scary as the other one was. If he wantedto kill me, he would have already. His touch was kind and gentle, unlikeGerviase, who, if he wanted to, could have broken my arm in every placeimaginable. I could tell he wanted to talk. It was in his eyes and the way hestood. It felt like he had been hiding a secret for centuries and he was at hiswits’ end. I wanted to listen; I wanted toknow what was weighing him down so much that he fought for a stranger.

I bit my lip as we entered into the abandonedhouse. He almost had to push me to get my legs moving. I was afraid of whatmight happen to me in this house. My legs were wobbling and I was hoping hedidn’t notice.

“Its okay, I won’t hurt you,” hepromised me, his voice tender. “I want to tell you the truth.” And I wanted tohear what he believed was the truth. I would listen as quietly as I could,regardless of what was said.

He guided me into what looked likea neglected living room, filled with broken furniture and dust. I found asemi-clean spot, sat down on the floor in the corner and brought my legs to mychest. My mind was going a million miles a minute. I felt dazed and tried tobring the questions that were in my head out into words. Michael always laughedat me when I got this way; so confused and at a loss for words, I stutteredwhen I spoke. He found it cute. And then he’d forget what we were talkingabout, and just take me in his arms and kiss me. I missed his lips.

The vampire crossed the floor.There was no moon that night but I could some how see him through the darkness.His blue eyes glowed and seemed to be more compassionate than the other vampireI encountered that day. He took off his top hat and let his hair flow down hisback. He had long silky black hair that reached his mid back. He had a strongjaw line that was quite romantic looking. When he removed his long blackjacket, I saw his muscular frame, but with his jacket on he just looked thin.His skin was as pale as mine and just as flawless.

My eyes met his. I couldn’t lookaway from his beauty; it was hypnotizing me. I followed him with my eyes as hesat down next to me, only a foot away. As his eyes locked onto mine I looked onin despair; he was hiding beneath his gallantry. It had to have been braverythat made him do what he did that day. But underneath, he had to be scared. Helet out a breath of air so close to my face that I smelled its sweetness.

“My name is Alexander Viaro. Thatman, Gerviase, is my father, the man who created me.” He had an accent fromanother country and this whole time he was hiding it. I didn’t want to sayanything; I wanted his words to roll off his tongue with no interruption fromme.

“This life I live started in Rome, in the year 1798. Itwas a period of time when the rule of the Popes was interrupted by theshort-lived Roman Republic, which was builtunder the influence of the French Revolution. You see, the Roman Republicwas proclaimed after Louis Alexandre Berthier, a General of Napoleon, hadinvaded our city. It was then that our Pope was taken prisoner. It was a timeof war for us.

“I was a boy of twenty-five, butback then I was considered a man by all accounts and needed to act like one. Ilooked pretty much the way I do now, except that my skin was an olive color.But my eyes – they have always been blue – they were just darker.” He lookeddown at his hands. “I had working man’s hands and lived a tiring life. Mymother had died during childbirth and my father had just died in a riot duringthe revolution. At 25, I was just starting to be on my own when it became myjob to carry on and take care of my family’s property.

“That’s when Gerviase found me inthe fields behind my home. I was down on my knees praying to God for answers,but more importantly, I was mourning my father’s death. Maybe I was trying toreplace reasons to move on. It was then that I felt the cold dead hand of a man onmy shoulder. It startled me at first. Then I looked up. I think Gerviase meantto kill me because his eyes were weak and his body was frail and obviouslythirsty. Maybe he felt sorry for me or maybe he wanted a companion. I still donot know what led him to do what he did that day.

“I took him into my home. He saidhe needed food and shelter, and from the way he walked and looked at me I knewit had to be true. I don’t think I was even able to close the door behind mebefore he bit me.” His eyes almost closed as he thought about those long agomemories. “It was a calming consciousness that I fell into. But of course youknow what I mean. I think I felt better than I had in days. In those moments Iwas able to forget my father’s death and the pain melted away so humanely. WhenI opened my eyes to the new world around me, things were so different, so muchbrighter. I saw things more clearly.

“He stayed with me during mychange, helping me keep my strength up by bringing me peasants from my town.Some of them I didn’t know very well, but most of them I did. But at that time,I didn’t care. Whatever this new life was, I wanted to embrace it witheverything I had. I wanted to follow him and be as strong as he was. I wantedto be taken away from the depression I felt and I knew he would be the one whocould do it. When I was with Gerviase, I didn’t think about my father or thewar around me. I thought about my next kill. I thought that, no matter what,there was nothing humanly possible that could ever hurt me again.

“We didn’t stay long in my town. Itwas bittersweet to leave. This was the only place I had ever known and I wasleaving. But I just thought of it as an adventure. I wasn’t as old as I am nowand I still thought like a child. Gerviase didn’t want to stay in one place toolong, out of fear of detection. He taught me the importance of invisibility.No, we would only stay long enough to replace some careless human wandering thestreet, grab him for our meal, and than move on to the next one.

“He told me of our kinds past – as far back ashe could remember anyway – but he didn’t know who the first one was. Hiscreator didn’t even know. He told me about the things that could hurt us and hetold me what things were defenseless againstus. We always had to be careful not to be noticed. But then there were alwaysfoolish vampires that left a trail behind, as you might have read from books.”He let out a weak laugh.

“We wreaked havoc on our enemiesthroughout the years, but I always took this life as a curse. I acted strongwhen I needed to, but I was weak when nobody was looking. Taking a human’s lifewas more than I could bear, but I knew it was essential for survival. Overtime, it got easier. But immortality takes a toll on your spirit. If you countthe centuries, I’ve died over three times now. And so it was for 110 years,until we met Daniel.

“In the year 1908, we traveled tothe states. Gerviase promised me that the move would bring us new life, but infact it brought nothing more than destruction. That’s when we came acrossDaniel and his coven. Daniel was a stronger vampire, stronger than most. He wasmany years older than Gerviase or anybody else we had come into contact with.He was even older than Gerviase’s maker. He was different than any othervampire and when I say ‘different,’ I mean darker, both his skin and hisspirit.

During his years as an immortal,Daniel wasn’t a vampire of wisdom, as you might think, but of deception and aknown maker of cruelty. He had a way to trick you into believing that his waywas paramount, and if you thought differently, you would be no more. You mightsay he put a spell on Gerviase. At any rate, that’s what it felt like to me. Hehad many vampire servants worshiping him, mortals wanting to be like him, andwomen wanting to be with him. When he slept, he had vampires that guarded him.

“When we met Daniel, winter hadjust begun. Few people walked the streets because of the cold. We were hungryand tired from our journey and Daniel was there to welcome us with open arms.He was planning an attack, he wouldn’t say on what at the time, but he neededsoldiers for his ‘army.’ All he would tell us was that he had dreams ofconquest and needed us to help fulfill his vision. Gerviase always welcomedbrutality and volunteered our services without hesitation and without question.I never wanted any part of what Daniel had planned. I wasn’t a brutal personwhen I was human and I wanted to stay that way. And so I stayed with Gerviase, trainingby his side, only because I knew if I left, I would surely die.

“We trained day and night forseventy-seven years, waiting for this unknown battle. We carried out all ofDaniel’s orders without question and without hesitation. We stole when necessary,changed unwilling mortals into vampires when he saw fit, and killed when told.Of course Gerviase was like a child on a playground with no parent around formiles. He got some sort of pleasure out of torturing innocent people,especially those who fought back. He found it to belike a game. But as the years went on, he couldn’t keep up with me.

“Daniel took an interest in me veryquickly. I rose more quickly in the ranks, due to my fighting ability, speedand lack of emotional ties than what he had anticipated.It seemed to make Gerviase jealous. Daniel wanted me to be a sergeant, but Ideclined. I just couldn’t force others to do what was expected from me.

“Unneeded battles came and went,all for one man’s need for power. The night finally came when he told us whatand who we would be fighting.”

I sat in silence as he spoke. Itwas only then that I realized the majesty in his voice. He spoke with honor andprinciple. He had so much control in each word; his was a voice from a timewhen words truly meant something.

The rain was getting strongeroutside; I could hear it pound on the long forgotten house. Every now and thenI heard thunder, and the lightning lit the room, giving me a chance to seeAlexander’s flawlessness. I didn’t want to turn away, but I knew that if I keptstaring, it would be hard to listen. I turned my head and studied the ground.

“On that night, Daniel gathered hissoldiers, Gerviase and I included, and told us of the vampire prophecy. It wasa prophecy that was as old as he was, and only passed down by othervampires. He told us of a family who came fromgenerations of deadly vampires. We were told that these vampireswere different from us; not only was their blood different but they had powersthat they used to kill and to gain control. The next inline to turn in that family was a womanname Mia, and her husband Tristan.”

My focus shifted when I heard thosetwo unmistakable names. I looked over at Alexander without saying a word andwidened my eyes.

“Yes Trinity – your parents.”

I couldn’t believe he knew my parents.Finally, somebody who could tell me more about them than Sister Rose could! NowI would learn the importance of my family.

He lowered his head and let out abreath. “Trinity, you come from a long line of vampire warriors. You are notthe first and you surely won’t be the last. The reason you are here is thatyour parents – as did their parents before them – waited to turn until afterthey had children. They needed to keep the family bloodline alive.

“Daniel told us that these mortalswould bear the child who would have enough indignation and enough power to ruleover the vampire world and maybe enough domination to destroy him. He couldn’tfathom the idea of having another immortal take over his self-made throne. Theidea of this child having the same strengths and weaknesses as he had would notbe permissible. He had to be the only king of this world. I didn’t know itthen, but he was fueled by a force even greater than his own.

“As time went on, it would prove tobe impossible to get to your parents; you see they had generations of vampiresprotecting them. Protecting every move we made and every new child that wasborn. For that reason, we trained day and night for all those years. We had tobe stronger.”

My eyelids were getting heavy andmy body was getting exhausted. I could feel my head lowering and the sleepstarted taking over as the sound of the thunder cradled me like a lullaby. Iwanted to hear more from Alexander, but my body told me I couldn’t.

“Your body needs to sleep. We’llstop for now.” His voice was as low as my head. I didn’t agree, but I couldn’tfight it either. I just lay down on the floor and began my slumber. If only Ihad known it wasn’t going to be peaceful.

I dreamt I was running in theforest. Trees encircled me; the branches hung from side to side with leavesthat were big and bright. I could see all the greens and browns that made upthe space that surrounded me. There were flashing lights that were too bright.I shielded my eyes with my arm. I didn’t know if I was running from somethingor running toward something.

As I tried to run further, thebright sunlight that once was blinding me was now receding and the sky waschanging to a deep blood red. The sun was low in the sky making it bigger thanI had ever seen, releasing strange shadows. Almost instantly, grey cloudscovered the sky. Beauty was erased and all that was left was a wasteland.

The trees that were once full ofbig beautiful leaves were now nothing but dead empty branches that slowlystarted to whisper, as a breeze careened through the branches. Then, suddenlyand without cause, a flash of lightning illuminated the dead forest around me.I was scared and I couldn’t run anymore; my feet where frozen to the dirt. Iwas overwhelmed with a feeling of fear and I could feel my already-cold skingrow colder as I heard the branches angrily scratch fast against each other.What was happening around me? What was this place?

A small shadow of a creature ranpast me going east, and just as fast, another ran west. No sound was heard,just the sight of blackness running in front of me. What were these things? Inthe far distance, I saw something. It wasn’t a shadow. As it slowly got closer,I saw that it was a person – a small person. As it inched my way, I saw that itwas my daughter walking slowly toward me, her arms outstretched for me. Why wasshe here, in this place that could only be described as a nightmare?

As she got closer I could see thered stains on her neck dripping down to her white flowing nightgown. Her skinwas white, almost porcelain, and her eyes were black and cold. She had asadistic smile on her face and she was hardly recognizable. My sorrowoverwhelmed me. I wanted to cry, but as she came to me, the tears turned toquestions. She stood in front of me, the way she is was because of me: I letthis happen to her. My baby was dead because I couldn’t save her. I blinked andshe was right in front of me, a foot away.

“Mama, why didn’t you save me?” Shecocked her head to the side; her voice was low and weak.

What could I say to that? How couldI soothe her? Nothing I said could change what happened. “Oh, Baby, I’m so sorry!”I dropped to my knees, “I tried to get to you.”

She narrowed her black demon eyeson me. “You didn’t make it, Mama!” she said coldly. “You know what you have todo now.” She demanded.

“What, Baby? What do I have to do?”I asked, almost crying. I reached out to hold her, but she stepped back awayfrom me. Why didn’t she want me to touch her, to embrace her?

“You need to kill them, Mommy. Youneed to destroy the man who killed me. You need to finish this, before itfinishes you.” A small smiled creased her lips. “You know you’re going tolose.”

I didn’t understand. She never talkedlike that before. She had no emotion in her words; she didn’t speak like mylittle girl. This couldn’t be Sierra. I looked up and Gerviase had his armwrapped around her shoulders, smiling down on me. She lifted her hand to holdhis. “No Sierra! Let him go! Come back to Mommy!” I yelled firmly. Gerviasejust stood there smiling.

The pair started to slowly driftaway into the distance. I couldn’t touch her; I couldn’t run to her. Please, legs, move! I tried to rememberhow to run. Why don’t you work? “SIERRA!”I yelled in a panic.

“Mama.” She paused. “He’s going tokill you,” I heard, as if she were right next to me, whispering it in my ear.

And just as quickly as she came,she was gone, and all that I heard was a child’s laughter. I stood in the darkness,yelling for her to come back.

“SIERRA!” I screamed.

I sat up quickly. I was breathingheavily like I had just finished running a marathon. I guess it was just anatural reaction to breathe the way I was breathing after experiencing what Ijust experienced. The vampire in me knew I didn’t need to. But the human in me stillprevailed. The moon hid behind the clouds and the rain was still pouring down.I was back in the abandoned house, sitting up on the ground. Sierra was goneand I was all that was left from my dream.

“Are you okay, Trinity?” Alexanderasked me, already by my side. He was dripping wet, leaving puddles wherever hestood.

“Mybody… I can feel my veins throbbing throughout my body.” I rubbed my arms as ifI was trying to get warm, but I was trying to stop my veins from pulsatingpainfully. I couldn’t think what could be the cause of it. Could it be from thedream that I had? Was my body just in shock? Could it be because I didn’t havea heartbeat that now my veins were beating in its place?

“You’re hungry, Trinity. That’syour body signaling you that you need to feed.” He threw a deer at my side; thepoor thing was still shaking with fear. “You’re not ready for human bloodyet…..Drink.” He warned.

I didn’t hesitate or question hisdemand; he obviously knew more than I did. I knelt over to the defenseless deerand stuck my already protruding razor sharp teeth into its side. As with thehorse, the taste was sweet and warm. I felt the pain in my veins slowly stopits throbbing. My body instantly feltbetter.

I wiped my mouth and looked over atAlexander. He was sitting next to me, against the wall, with his legs stretchedout. He was watching me like a teacher; I was actually waiting for him to tellme I wasn’t doing it right. But he justsat there rolling his hands together in silence, as if he was scared ofsomething. “Continue with the story…Please.” I begged.

“Are you sure you’re ready to hearthe rest?”

Am I ready to hear the rest? Was hekidding? After all that had happened and all he had already said to me, Ineeded him to continue. I had been waiting my whole life to hear about mynatural parents. I was more than ready.

“Yes…” I said, feeling so certain,but if he was able to read my thoughts, he would know that in the back of mymind, I was also a little scared. If they were horrible people, I didn’t wantto know.Ididn’t want to hear that these vampires were justified in hunting myfamily.

He cleared his throat and, withboth hands, brushed his wet hair away from his face. “Our battle began in theyear 1985 and we were off to hunt for your parents before they could have thischild. I went off on my own to search for your mother. I searched for manymonths. It always seemed like I was either a day or an hour behind her. The oneshe was with was smart and knew the ways of the world and knew better thananybody else how to hide.

“Until I discovered that she alwaysreturned to a place that had already been searched. I guess they figured thatwe would assume that, if it was already searched, we wouldn’t go back. But inall honesty, I had run out of places to look. And so I remained in the lastplace they had been. I was just hoping for some miracle. I waited for herreturn. I waited for days, feeding off the animals that would drift by. Not thebest meals, but they sufficed. I almost gave up.

“Then one night, your mother showedup with her Aunt Elizabeth. Your mother was nine months pregnant with you. Theyknew I was there. I think they knew many miles before they even got there. Elizabeth could smell myscent and they knew what I was there to do. They even hesitated for a moment,wondering if they should turn back. But I guess deep down they knew that Iwould, in the end, replace them.

“They opened the door slowly.Honestly – I don’t know why, since they knew where I was – your mother wascrying and cradling her stomach as she entered. She had just learned of herhusband’s death, of how he was slaughtered, and now she mourned for him.

“Tristan was found in Greece.Your parents split up, thinking it would be harder to replace them separately thantogether. Kind of like when parents take separate airplanes, strategizing thatif one crashed, there would still be one parent alive. Obviously they werewrong. Gerviase found Tristan in a hotel room, sleeping, which was his onlyweakness.

“Gerviase snuck in quietly withfive of his soldiers, careful not to be heard. Tristan was chained to the wall andbitten many times by all of them. When he bent his knees to stand up straight,they struck him with fiery whips. He wasn’t allowed to feed, but instead he hadto watch as the others brought in humans to feed off of. And watching is theworst torture a vampire can endure.

“When he became too exhausted tofight, and torturing him was no longer fun, they ripped him apart, piece bypiece, until all that was left was his head. Gerviase took it as a trophy andknelt down before Daniel to give him his prize. The others burnt what was leftof Tristan and spread the ashes where all ofDaniels trapped victims lived, to remind them of what their punishment couldbe.

“When your mother and her auntwalked in to where I was hiding, they were wet from the rain outside. Yourmother was frail and broken hearted; you could see she was ready to collapse. Iwas ready to kill her, to carry out my mission just as I was ordered. But whenI looked into her weeping eyes, I saw the love and compassion behind them. Itwas then that I realized that Daniel was wrong and I couldn’t do what I wassent there to do. I couldn’t kill her – not for Daniel’s lies.

“I told them I wouldn’t hurt themand that I wanted to help, and I truly meant it. Your mother dropped to my feetand asked God to forgive her, as she wanted me to end her life. Her belovedhusband, who was supposed to be immortal, was dead and she knew it wouldn’t belong for her death as well. But I couldn’t do what she asked. I tried to calmher, but in time she calmed herself and thought of…..you.”

The stream of despair that wentthrough me was too much for me to handle. I tried to cry but no tears wouldcome. Instead, my feelings turned to rage. My father suffered, for what I don’tknow. The only thought that calmed me now was that he died to protect me – thatmuch was certain.

“I stayed with them for weekstrying to shelter them, trying to offer my support in any way that I could. Mymission in that life became one of protecting her and her unborn child and Iwould do anything to defend them. Most days were spent just talking aboutourselves. I spoke of my past and how I came to be in Daniel’s army and shetold me what little she could. I think she wanted to hold back in case I wasn’ttrue to my word.

“Then one night she began to givebirth. I’ve made it my goal to remember that night clearly so I could tell youeverything exactly as it happened. I wanted a memory of your mother to sharewith you that would make you proud.

“It was raining harder than the previousweeks, and there was flooding everywhere. The wind was strong and the treestried to break through the windows, but it was harmonizing in some way too. Itwas a little after nine and the lights were flickering on and off due to thestorm. Nothing really was going on; we were just sitting around in silence whenyour mother suddenly stood up. Water had collected at her feet. I picked her upand carried her to the bed in the closest room. Your mother screamed whileholding her Aunt’s hand trying to push so hard. She was so scared of theunknown. This was her first child and her own mother was not around to helpguide her. I sat there mystified, not knowing what to do, and for the firsttime in many centuries I was scared. All I could say was “Push.” He smiled ashe remembered that night.

“You were born that night inDecember, into my arms, nineteen past ten. Your mother held you close to herbeating heart, hoping you would remember the rhythm. She asked that I name you.I took it as a big responsibility, so I did my best. I gave you the nameTrinity because of who you were going to be. I thought it would be fitting. Didyou ever wonder what your name truly meant?” He looked at me and smiled. Icould only shake my head no as he continued. “Your name means the union of thethree divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in one God.

Hearing the true meaning of my namesomehow made me feel closer to God. This is what I was meant to be named. Godsaw it. Even my mother saw it. Maybe there was truth in Alexander’s words.

“When the time was right, Elizabeth bit yourmother, changing her into what I can only say was a picturesque vampire. Inever saw such a beautiful vampire in all my years...Until now.” He paused andraised an eyebrow. I think he was hoping I would catch on to his laststatement.

“After she was turned, her Aunttaught her all she needed to know. She’d hunt at night; in the day, you werealways in her arms. She would hold you and sing to you and rock you soperfectly, and while she slept I looked after you. You were the light of herlife, her one reason to push forward. When she’d sing to you, I could only lookon in awe. She had an exquisite voice. You were the one who was going to changeeverything and she wanted to protect that.

“But the day that everybody dreadedcame and none of us were truly prepared for it. Some of Daniel’s army finallyfound us. I have no idea how they managed to do so. I stayed with you and yourmother while Elizabethtried to fight them back. But she was losing. Your mother knew she would diethat night, and so she did the unthinkable –something I never knew she had itin her to do – and something that Daniel would never see coming. She slit herneck for me to drink her blood. It was how the families’ powers could betransferred to you, if the time ever came. I understood her thinking and hermotives and so I drank, I drank until I couldn’t drink any longer. The bloodwas overpowering and hard to combine with mine, but I knew that once I absorbedher blood into my system, I would carry the hope of bringing it to you. In themeantime, it weakened me and I couldn’t fight.

”In her last minutes, she handedyou to me and made me swear to protect you, to do anything in my power to keepyou safe, and to keep Daniel’s army from replaceing you. And so I swore. I grabbedyou and ran. Many times I wanted to turn back and get her but I knew she wouldalready be dead. And if I returned with you in my arms, Daniel’s soldiers wouldkill me and you as well.

“I took you to a monastery, hopingthey would replace you a good home. I traveled back to Gerviase and told him I hadno luck replaceing your mother. I led him on different paths throughout the yearsuntil one night another vampire found your daughter’s records at school andtold Daniel about it. I couldn’t hide those transcripts even if I had tried. IfI had, Daniel would have known and I would have been the hunted. I have watchedover you your whole life – and your daughter’s. I’m sorry this happened. That’swhy I requested this mission… to protect you…”

I stopped him in anger. “Protectme! Some protection! You stood by and let Gerviase kill my family, then end mylife by biting me! How is that protection?”

“I didn’t know he was going to killyour family, I swear. I got there too late to save your daughter. When heturned on your husband, I had to do what I did; I had to bite you. Michaelwould have died anyway.” He said almost mournfully. “After I got there and sawwhat he did, I knew I’d have to bite you before he could do worse. If I hadn’tbitten you, you wouldn’t have your families’ power and you’d probably be dead.If he would have gotten to you andkilled you, Daniel would have won.”

“Some protection, Alexander! I’velost everything I have and now what? You’re telling me I’m a ‘prophecy’ made todestroy Daniel? That my whole life has been a lie, that nothing I did as amortal meant anything! I had all this power and I couldn’t even use it to savewhat was most important to me. If my family has this power, why didn’t theysurvive?”

“It wasn’t their destiny. Theyweren’t here to fight Daniel but to keep the generations going so that youcould be born. The prophecy stated that you were to fight and destroy Daniel,but your mother never wanted you to become a vampire. This wasn’t the life shewanted for you. She saw the pain it caused and the lives that ended so unjustly.That’s why I sent you on the path I did,” he said holding my hands. “Don’t yousee we’ve changed everything, I’ve changed everything. This is what Danielfeared.”

“You’ve changed everything. Okay.”I bit my bottom lip. “Well, guess what. It’s my turn to change something, andthe only thing I’m going to change is the existence of Gerviase and Daniel!” Isaid standing to my feet. “And you know what you’re gonna do? You’re gonnateach me to fight, you’re gonna teach me my powers, and then you’ll teach me tokill them.” I was wound up and anxious.

“Wait, Trinity! There are stillthings you need to know!”

I stopped walking away and turnedto look at him. “Like what?” I said sarcastically.

He got up, crossed the living roomand stood in front of me, putting his hands on my shoulders, just like myfather did when I had said something or done something wrong and he needed tocorrect me. I found it kind of demeaning. “I told you, you’re different.” Hewarned.

“Okay fine!” I sat down like I haddone many times when my father wouldn’t let me have my way. If he wanted totreat me like a child, then I would act like one. “How am I different?”

“You don’t feel the same thingsthey feel. The taste of blood in your mouth and how it feels for you to holdsomething is not the same for you as it is for other vampires. They don’t seewhat you see, it’s like looking through a set of glasses but the prescriptionis only made out for you. Other vampires don’t see things as clearly as you.” Hehad urgency in his voice. My pulse sped up as his words came faster.

“Your bloodline tells a story aboutwho you are and just how far back your ancestors go. You’ll be able to tellwhen another vampire will strike. You will notice his eyes turn to black.Others of our kind can’t see that – it’s one of your weapons. Unlike the myths,they can be in the sunlight, but it weakensthem. But for you: it’ll make you stronger, energized even; you’ll feel likeyou’ve slept for days. You can run faster, and you are more powerful than anytwenty of them put together.” He finally sat down next to me.

“Please go on.” I said in awe overall this new information.

“You also have a killing mechanismthat no other vampire can obtain unless the blood is shared. It’s your fangs.You store acid in them and it’s the acid that comes out when you’re enragedthat will kill them. There is only one othervampire other than us that share these powers.” He paused.

“…Daniel” I said looking over athim.

“Yes” he said softly. “I obtainedthese powers from your mother when I drank her blood. When I bit you thatnight, I transferred my blood into your wound. Mixing my blood, which contained the blood of your ancestors, with yours, it madeyou stronger than any of them. But it is unknown how Daniel was made, so it isunclear how he has his power. That’s why we fear him. You see, Trinity that iswhy he ordered your death. He can’t have somebody stronger than him alive. Hewants vampires to be frightened of him, and if there’s another immortal outthere that is as strong or stronger than he is,it’ll weaken his army and hinder his followers.”

“Then what are you asking me to do?Run? Hide? You said it yourself he’s impossible to fight, to destroy. Where amI gonna go? Stay here? Yeah, cause it’s a great place to live.” I saidsarcastically.

For the first time in my new life Iwas truly scared. Somebody that I didn’t know wanted me dead for something Ihad no control over, for something I didn’t even do. And to top that off, Iknew that I couldn’t run. He would replace me.

“You can’t run, Trinity. He willreplace you. You have one weakness, and he knows it, because it’s his weaknesstoo.” Alexander placed his hands on mine.

I looked over at him. “Yeah, andwhat’s that?”

“You need to sleep. His armydoesn’t. He will replace where you’re resting and he will kill you. He isunstoppable and his rage is his gasoline.”

“Then what are you telling me todo? Fight?” I said confused. “Because I can assure you that I have no idea howto, as you saw in the orchard.”

“No, you are sure to lose. You’renew to this world and don’t know or understand your powers. You need to betrained. I have been waiting patiently for twenty-five years to help you. Iswore to your mother I would protect you, even if I die trying…”