The full moon shone brightly against the black night. Barbie’s silky blond hair blew behind her as she flew towards the quiet village of Baden. Her stomach ached with hunger; she hadn’t eaten since last month. Vampires only needed to kill once or twice a month.

A homeless man slept in a cardboard ox in a dark alley. Barbie only preyed on those who were wishing for death. As a Charleston, Barbie had a mystical power; like her great-grandmother Emilia, Barbie could hear the prayers of mortals. And this poor man’s was ringing loudly in her head.

I cannot live another day. Please kill me now. Please, oh Lord, please let me die.

Barbie sighed. The Vampire Curse was one she hated. Having to kill to survive. It wasn’t fair. But it was a must for survival.

One, two, three! she counted down. Folding her wings back in order to gain speed, she dived towards the homeless man. Once she was a foot away, she opened her broad ice white wings and landed gently.

The man awoke with a start. “Who are you? What do you want?” he demanded, frightened.

“I’m here to answer your prayers.”

“Some say you’re an angel. Others say you’re a demon.” Forest landed a few feet from his soul sister, Barbie. A smile appeared on his face. “Which is it?”

Barbie turned around, dark red blood on her lips. “God only knows.” Her pink tongue licked the residue away. “Nice to see you’re back, Forest.”

“Transylvania isn’t as exciting as Lord Dracula makes it out to be,” he shrugged. “I had to come back early, or I think I would have died.”

Barbie laughed. Her soul brother was always making jokes about death; the ironic thing was, vampires could only die if a stake went through their heart.

“I’m full. Want some?” She gestured towards the dead homeless man.

“Sure, why not? I last ate almost two months ago.” He went for the man’s neck.

“Elizabeth turned one last week,” Barbie said, sitting on a bench close by. “There was a masquerade ball for her birthday.”

“I always miss those,” Forest stated, raising his head to look at Barbie. “Masquerade balls are my favorite.”

“I know. I thought of you the whole time.”

“Aren’t you sweet,” he smiled. Then he returned to his meal.

Barbie looks up to the sky. “We’d better go,” she said after a while. “The sun is beginning to rise.”

Forest stood. Turning to face his sister, he licked the thick red blood from his lips. He opened up his strong wings. “Let’s fly.”

Verona, only sister of vampire king, Harry, sat on the windowsill in her bedroom. It was early morning, when most of her family was still asleep. But Verona loved the daytime; sometimes she wondered if she truly was a vampire. Her long black hair hung behind her, her ice blue eyes surveying the dawn sky. Sometimes being in the castle made her bored.

That’s when she saw Forest, flying with Barbie. She watched him closely, wondering if she should go talk to him. His blue hair blew in the wind, his hazel eyes shining with laughter. Sometimes, Verona was jealous of Barbie. The blonde-headed Charleston daughter could talk to Forest whenever she wanted. Verona, however, was too shy.

But she wouldn’t let that bother her. Gently, she stepped down from the windowsill and headed out her door. Racing towards the Great Balcony, she knew she’d be too shy to talk to Forest herself. If she flew up to the roof of the castle, he would see her. That way, if he wanted to talk to her, he could.

Finally, she reached the balcony. Opening the large glass doors, she stepped out into the chilly air. Quietly, she closed the doors and raced to the edge. Donning her wings, she jumped into the air and flew towards the top of the castle. Her toes touched the roof first. She landed gracefully, closing her wings. There was nowhere to sit but the ground, so Verona sat on the edge of the roof.

The air was cold, as it always was in Baden. Snow was on the ground of the roof, white and cold. Verona hated snow. It was so innocent. Unlike her. She was cold. Nothing more. Just cold.

Please, I want him to talk to me. Maybe he can warm me up.

Maybe he can warm me up. Barbie could hear a familiar voice ring through her head. Of course, it was Verona’s. Sitting on a tree branch, she snuck a look at the bitch princess. She never liked her and would never dream of helping her. But maybe she could help her, just this once…

“Look at the poor ting, out in the cold.”

Forest gave her a look. “What are you talking about?”

“Princess Verona. That cold-hearted bitch. She should marry Jack Frost.”

Forest rolled his hazel eyes. “Come on, Barbie. I know you’re jealous of her and all, but those comments aren’t necessary.”

“Not you too. All the male vampires are in love with her. Some even say Elizabeth is her daughter, not Jasmine’s. If you really look at her, she doesn’t look like Jasmine at all.”

Forest stood up. “Verona is not a slut, Barbie. You need to watch what you say; someday it’ll come back to haunt you.” Then he opened his wings and took off towards the castle.

Barbie smiled to herself. You owe me, Princess.

As her older brother, Forest knew Barbie was jealous of the Princess Verona. What female vampire wouldn’t be? Verona had long, silky black hair and stunning blue eyes. She had the look of innocence and skin pale as the moon. The only thing about her was the coldness. She had a way of being cold and dark to those around her. No one else could see it, but Forest could. Maybe he could change that…

When he got close enough to the castle, he swooped in for a landing. Verona raised her head in surprise.

“It’s a bit cold, don’t you think?” Forest smiled.

Verona managed a weak smile in response. “Not really.”

“I’m freezing.”

“Should be warm soon. The sun is coming out.”

Unlike Transylvanian vampires, English vampires could stand the sun.

“True.” He sat next to Verona on the edge of the roof. “You seem down. Wanna talk?”

“We already are.”

This isn’t going to be easy, he noted. “Something bothering you?”

Verona shrugged. “I guess.”

“Care to explain?”

“Well…” She met eyes with Forest. “Do I seem…cold to you?”

Barbie swooped in next. “Yes, you cold-hearted bitch. You’re cold. Colder than Pluto’s moons.”

“Barbie, what did I tell you?”

The blond-haired vampire laughed. “I’m just here to help.”

“Help what?” Verona said darkly.

“Scratch that. I’m here to answer your prayers.”

Verona couldn’t understand. “Prayers?”

“Yeah, I heard your pathetic cries for help.” In a mocking voice, Barbie shrieked, “Oh, help me! I’m such a cold soul. Maybe Forest can help warm me up. Oh, why am I so hollow?” She laughed again.

How could she know? How could she have heard them? Was she a mind reader?

“Barbie…” Forest said in a warning tone.

But Barbie ignored him. “I’m sure Forest could try his best. But the truth is, you’ll never be more than a pathetic whore.”

Jasmine cradled her young daughter. The tiny child had awaken when the sun rose, like every morning. Something about the burning star bothered Elizabeth. Maybe it was the Transylvanian blood that made the sun seem so annoying. The little bit of Transylvanian blood that Jasmine had passed along; the Transylvanian blood that caused Jasmine to live in darkness; the Transylvanian blood from her great-great-grandfather. Poor Elizabeth would have to live a life of darkness, just like her mother.

“Jasmine?” Harry stepped inside the infant’s room. “Is Elizabeth ok?”

“Yes. It’s just the sun.” Jasmine spoke with a hint of Transylvanian accent.

“We need to move her into your room.”

“But she cannot live with me her whole life.”

“We’ll make her a new room. It can be her gift for when she becomes an adult.”

Adulthood for vampires happened at age fourteen. It would take almost thirteen years to build their daughter a new room, a perfect room.

Jasmine nodded, agreeing with her lord.

“I’m going to be in Farley for a few days. The Creature Count is being written, and I am a part of it.”

The Creature Count was a list of all the creatures in Europe, naming the most powerful to the disgraceful. It was an important even because it listed who was powerful over whom.

“I’ll watch over the castle while you’re gone.”

“You’ll be wonderful, my bride.”

Jasmine smiled nervously as she set Elizabeth back into her cradle. This would be her first time being in charge of the castle on her own. If she messed up, something dreadful could happen.

“I should be leaving now. I came to say goodbye.” He smiled gently at his bride.

“Have a good trip, love.” She kissed him on the cheek.

Man by day, werewolf by night. It truly was a curse. Jordan looked painfully at the scar on his upper left arm. The bite of the werewolf. He’d ran away from his family at age fifteen in order to protect them. Now he lived in an abandoned log cabin in the thickest part of the woods.

Sometimes, when he woke up in the morning, he would find pieces of human flesh between his teeth. Other times, bones could be found laying around his house. After four years, he’d grown to be used to it. Jordan lived in loneliness, except for the occasional visit from his cousin Jasmine, the vampire. But now that Elizabeth had been born, Jasmine rarely ever came.

This particular morning, however, Jordan awoke to find a rather large gash on his right leg. It was painful and still open. Must have been recent, Jordan noted. Of course, he couldn’t remember where he’d gotten it. As he sat on his bed, picking flesh from his teeth, he heard a strange thud on his rooftop. Surprised, he ventured outside and looked up.

There, standing on his roof, was a girl, dressed in green gypsy-like clothing. Curly dark brown hair hung past her shoulders and her eyes flashed ocean blue. A mischievous smile was on her face as she stared down at the shirtless boy.

“You can’t be here,” he warned.

“I can be where I please,” she giggled.

“You don’t want to stick around.”

“Oh, trust me, I do.” Suddenly, gray wings opened from her back and she swooped behind the house, then appeared and landed on the other side directly in front of Jordan.

“What do you want?” he growled in warning.

“Blood.” Her eyes were shining with lusting hunger. Without warning, she grabbed his arm, her fingers on his veins. For a second, Jordan really thought she was going to kill him. But her eyes changed from extreme famine to fear. “You have werewolf poison running through your blood.”

“You’re insane! I’m telling you, get away!” The shock of someone at his place had gone; now Jordan was mad that a vampire had wanted to kill him.

The girl dropped his arm and stepped back a few steps. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”

“Well, now you do.” The anger, too, quickly disappeared. Now he saw an attraction in the young vampire.

“I truly am sorry. I should leave.” She turned to go, opening her wings.

Jordan sighed. “Wait”

She turned around nervously.

“I shouldn’t have exploded like that. Why don’t you stay with me unti tonight? We can go hunting together.”

The girl smiled brightly. “I’d like that.”