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Chapter One
Lillian (or Lilli as she had always been called) had just been your average 17-year-old girl, struggling to get through life. At 5’6", she considered herself to be of average height. Her dark brown hair was nothing spectacular, she often considered it mousy even thought it was thick and glossy and hung past her waist. Her dark green eyes were bright and framed by thick, black lashes. Her least favorite feature was her nose; it was a little too long although it did complement the rest of her features. Her complexion was pale and held just a hint of a rosy glow.
This year had been the worst. Her parents had suddenly announced their divorce, or perhaps she had been just too blind to see it coming. Her father wanted nothing to do with her or her 14-year-old sister, May, and he had left them with nothing. Her mother got a job as a secretary for a small law firm and moved them into a cramped, one-bedroom apartment above a local deli. She and her sister shared the bedroom at her mother’s insistence and bought a futon to sleep on in the living room.
When her friends found out about her "downward mobility," as one of them had put it, all but a few had left her in the dust. Now her senior year was starting. And when she walked through those halls she would no longer be a part of the inner-circle, she would be on the outside.
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Waking up early on a Wednesday morning Lilli squinted her eyes against the offending rays of the sun and took a deep breath. First day of the rest of your life, Lilli, she thought. She slid out of bed and padded lightly to the door, stopping only for a minute to gaze at her sister’s sleeping form sadly. Junior high kids can be so cruel, she thought. She never wanted her sister to have to go through that pain, and now she would have to. On the way to the bathroom she passed her mother, still sleeping. All your fault, she thought bitterly, even though in her heart she knew that it wasn’t really true. As the shower ran scalding hot water over her body, flushing it crimson, she thought once again about this day, or the "Day of Truth" as she liked to call it.
Over the past two months she had discovered that in actuality her membership in the school’s most sought-after group was only based on her money, they had never even liked her at all. One of the girls had even gone so far as to call her ugly. It all cut so deep. The only thing that had saved her were friendships with two girls who she had virtually ignored for three years. Caitlynne and Tanya had given her their friendships back so quickly that she became so ashamed of the way she had treated them
Sighing, she stepped out of the shower and quickly slipped on her fluffy bathrobe. Walking out of the bathroom in a haze of steam she out on a pot of water for coffee and began to get dressed. After rummaging through her closet she picked out a short black skirt and a red tank top. She combed out her long, brown hair and slipped a simple silver headband over it. When she heard the kettle whistle she headed out the door only to be stopped by the glinting of a small, gold locket. She picked it up and as she held it her eyes misted over. On the back was written a simple inscription that she knew by heart: Love Always, My Flower, Joshua. What had happened to them? He had pledged his love forever only to rip it away when the news of her situation had reached him. Walking to the window she pushed it open and threw the necklace to the street below.
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School had been hard that first day. The stares and the whispers as she walked down the hallway had hurt so much. She was glad that Caitlynne was there to give her words of encouragement and Tanya was there to lighten the mood with jokes and meaningless prattle. Walking home she entered the alley next to the deli and opened the side-door. Taking the steps two at a time, she unlocked the door to her apartment and was relieved to find it empty. She was sitting at the little table in the kitchen drinking a can of soda when she heard the door slam and her named called. "What, May?" she called to her sister.
"I hate this, Lilli! Today sucked so much!" May cried.
"I know, May, for me too. We’ve just gotta work through it. Everything will be all right," said Lilli, putting on a brave face for the sake of her sister.
"How do you know?" asked May, her lower lip trembling.
"Because as long as you’ve got some true friends, you’re never alone. You’ve got those, right?"
"Yeah," said May slowly, "Becky and Lisa and Jamie are still real nice to me."
"You see? Plus you’ve got me and Mommy. Everything will be fine," Lilli soothed, and hugged her sister gently.
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Lillian didn’t get to sleep until very late that night. The tension from the day made her unable to relax. When she finally did fall asleep, that was when the dream began.
Lilli found herself standing in the middle of a gray, windowless room. She was wearing nothing but a black, silk bra and a matching thong. She looked around the room trying to find something, anything to cover her almost naked body with.
"Oh, so beautiful," a strange voice echoed through the room.
"Who’s there?" Lilli called, her voice soft and uncertain.
"Don’t be frightened, my darling," the voice answered.
A cold wind suddenly engulfed her and invisible hands seemed to be moving over her body, brushing over her stomach and stopping to rest on her hips. She looked down to where the strange weights seemed to lie and a pair of hand appeared there. They were pale and claw-like, but in their own way elegant and beautiful. Two strong arms pulled her back against a large, solid body. She struggled to get out of the embrace but froze when an unnatural sounding voice reached her ears. "Don’t struggle, my love. You have nothing to fear."
"Who are you?" Lilli asked.
"I am what you want. I am what you *need*," the voice whispered.
Lilli jumped slightly when she felt a pair of warm lips on her neck. They continued down the length of her throat and onto her shoulder, stopping there. She relaxed a little and she felt the rumble of laughter from behind her. "That’s it, relax. Whatever you want is yours."
"Who are you? Where am I?" Lilli asked again.
"Why the same question, Lillian? Why do you need to know?"
"You said that you would give me what I need. That is what I need," she said and began struggling to turn around and look at her "captor."
"Very well," it sighed and released her. She whirled around and gasped loudly when she saw who...or *what* had been behind her.
It was a man, or something like a man. He was not as tall as one might think, only 6’2" or so. He had shoulder length, black hair and deep garnet colored eyes. His skin was unnaturally pale, his face naturally would have been unmarked and smooth. A large tribal-looking tattoo covered his left eye and the left part of his forehead, sloping down to cover the cheekbone on the same side. Several earrings adorned both ears and were connected by long, hanging chains. He was dressed in a full suit of black leather that was buckled up to the throat. Huge bat-like wings were spread out behind him, the points of which looked to be covered with silver tips. On each finger were long silver rings that hinged at the knuckle. He smiled slightly at her reaction to his appearance and she saw that he had long, pointed canines, not unlike that of a vampire. But he was no vampire. "What are you," she breathed.
"I think you know what...or who I am."
She stared at him in shock, unable to say anything. He stepped close to her again and pressed his lips to hers in a demanding kiss. She responded almost against her will, her brain fogged beyond any comprehension. Suddenly she was aware of a sharp pain on her shoulder and she was snapped back to "reality." Glancing at her shoulder, she saw that he had dug his claws into it and blood was now seeping from the wounds and running down her back. She pulled away from him and pressed her hand to her shoulder, tears of pain filling her eyes. A look of worry passed over his face and he grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from her shoulder before she could react. "Let me fix that," he murmured, and lowered his head to the deep cuts.
He ran his tongue over each one, a burning sensation running down her arm each time he did so. When he finished he smiled at her, admiring his work. When she looked at her shoulder, she was shocked to see that it was no longer injured. "I think it’s time for you to wake up, Lillian," he said.
"What? Wake up? What’s happening?" she cried.
"I will see you soon, Lillian, soon," he whispered, and kissed her forehead lightly.
Lilli awoke with a pounding headache and an aching shoulder. Wow, that was some strange dream, she thought. As she slid out of bed she was suddenly aware that her nightshirt was very stiff. Almost running to the bathroom, she closed and locked the door. Closing her eyes, she peeled off the shirt. Slowly she opened her eyes, afraid of what she might see. Sure enough the back of her shirt was stained with dried blood and on her shoulder were four light scars. How could this have happened? I must have done this to myself in my sleep somehow, she thought. She desperately tried to make herself believe that as she turned the bathroom sink on full blast and dunked her shirt into the water, scrubbing furiously at the offending stains. When the stains had been washed out as much as possible, she hung it on the doorknob and decided to take a long, hot shower. She didn’t want to think about the dream, as vivid in her mind as if it had actually happened. But it didn’t happen, she reminded herself. It was nothing but a stupid dream. A stupid dream that she couldn’t get out of her head.
The rest of the day it was all she could think about. She barely paid attention to what her friends had to say and she actually started to become worried about what would happen the next time she fell asleep.
