…For stony limits cannot hold love out…
Romeo & Juliet, Act II, Scene ii

PROLOGUE

The woman stared calmly at the mutilated body before her. Crimson covered the walls and stained the carpet, and body parts were strewn about the room, reminding her of an old horror film she had seen not so long ago. Beside her, a man cradled a little girl in his arms, careful to keep her eyes averted from the grizzly scene surrounding them. In the distance, sirens wailed, and their eyes met above the child’s head.

“We can’t leave her here,” the woman said quietly, kicking a severed arm out of her way.

“Well, she certainly can’t come with us,” her companion protested, taken aback by her suggestion.

“She’s seen us. She knows what we are, and what we can do. If we leave her here, there’s a good chance she’ll tell them what happened.”

“Even if she did, who would believe her? Vampires don’t exist.”

But the woman was shaking her head emphatically. The only way that child was staying was if she were dead, and Martine wasn’t about to have another murder tugging at her conscience. “She has to come with us, Lewis. I refuse to commit any more murders tonight.”

“Those men were going to kill her,” the man argued, still rocking the girl quietly in his arms. “We were completely justified in our actions.”

“And killing our witness? That would be justified?”

“You said it yourself, Martine, she saw us. She has to be taken care of.”

“She’s coming with us,” the woman repeated firmly. “Give her to me.”

When the man didn’t move, her eyes narrowed. The little girl could feel the tension between the two, and her tears began to flow more freely as she clung to her savior’s neck.

“Don’t g-go!” she sniffed, burying her face in the wool of the man’s sweater.

Outside, the sound of sirens grew louder still, and flashing red lights filtered in through the room’s lacey curtains. Martine’s eyes were pleading, and as the ambulance careened around the corner, she caught the man’s brief nod as he headed for the window.

“Let’s go,” he muttered.

With surprising tenderness, he tucked the child beneath one arm and whispered something in her ear. Still in tears, the tiny figure sniffled and nodded, and suddenly her crying stopped.

Without another word, the two figures climbed through the open window with catlike grace, and landed two stories below, completely unharmed. The child never uttered a sound, though her eyes grew wide with fear as her home began to fade from view. As the sounds of concerned neighbors and frantic policeman faded, the trio made its way towards the outskirts of town, never to be seen there again.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Everyone, hello!

First of all, I want to welcome all of the new readers, as well as sending out some love to those who are returning! As promised, I've finally begun the process of rewriting my first completed novel, Bloodlust. As returning readers may have noticed, the prologue is pretty different from the original, though it takes place during (or rather, after) the same incident.

On the whole, I feel that this set-up is better than the old one in a few respects, and that the new opening quote is a better fit. It sets up the same initial event that is the catalyst for the entire story, aka the idea of Fiona living with a coven of vampires. So, for those of you who are new, that's the main character's name, and the rest of the story will be told from her point of view, just as it was in the original version. I think this version also introduces Martine and Lewis in a better, more positive light, while also making the theme of vampires blatantly obvious (scattered body parts, anyone?).

However, the main difference is that, in this version, Fiona isn't originally from North Pellin. As you'll see, Martine and Lewis are going to take her with them, and they'll eventually end up there. So yes, the main setting of the story will remain the same.

The next month is looking like it's going to be pretty busy as I finish up the semester, so I can't promise when the next chapter will be up, especially since I'm still plugging away at Abra Cadaver, as well as a short story, and a few oneshots. However, I really wanted to get the prologue of BR up for your viewing pleasure, and to give you an idea of what's to come.

Because this rewrite is going to be pretty different (though there's quite a bit of dialogue from the first draft that I plan on keeping), feedback of any sort would be greatly appreciated, though I certainly am not going to beg you to review. If you have the time, or if you've read the old version and have any comments, feel free to drop me a line.

In any case, I hope you enjoyed the prologue, and are looking forward to the rewrite - I am VERY excited to dive in once I'm presented with some actual free time!

Until next time!

Much love,
Sammy