Prologue
Ghouls love winter!! While they tolerate the elements, seconds after the fall solstice begins, darkness rules; and ghouls flourish in darkness. There are parts of today’s world that are dominated by the stench of demons, ghouls, and many other unearthly forms; therefore, the disastrous effects they have on the humans who live in their realm are immeasurable. Give a demon extra time to maneuver a situation, and they will use it to their advantage.
The number one exploited population in today’s modern world is the teenager. Because of a change in our society, teens are no longer afraid of things that go bump in the night. In fact, they encourage those bumps. Enter Erin Hastings, the beautiful, young, sixteen-year-old daughter of the local mayor in St. David, Arizona.
It’s 6:30 p.m. on December 23, and instead of being home with her family, wrapping Christmas gifts, she is out laughing, running, and being chased throughout the local graveyard by her extremely handsome, somewhat older boyfriend, Percy. Slipping on wet grass and tumbling to the ground, Erin continues laughing, and as she turns over on her back, her man Percy lightly lands on her abdomen. Then, placing his mouth on hers, he passionately kisses his “woman,” as he called her.
“God, I love kissing you Ms. Hastings,” Percy’s light British accented voice insisted.
“I love kissing you as well,” she sighed.
They kissed and touched one another, eagerly, hungrily, for several moments, and the young-looking Percy used his countless years of experience to arouse the woman he was with. Erin began to moan, “I want you, Percy, make me a woman, right here, right now!”
Percy stopped caressing her and lifted his body, “Erin, I don’t want your purity; not yet. You trust me don’t you?” Percy asked.
“I love you, Percy,” she added.
“But, you don’t trust me,” he said, as his beautiful smile faded, replaced by a frown.
“Percy, I’m willing to give you my most precious gift, isn’t that enough?” Erin asked him.
“I’m a vampire, and you know that!! Your most precious gift to me, especially when your heart is beating so fast, is what flows inside you. I don’t want it all, just a taste.” Displaying his most precious, loving look he added, “I have searched for you for hundreds of years; I’m not going to destroy the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
Quickly, Erin sat up. Percy thought he had lost his chance until she reached for his face and kissed him hard. “I’m scared,” she softly uttered.
“Erin, baby, I love you, and I don’t want to scare you!” he exclaimed. His face looked disappointed, hurt, and almost heartbroken.
Erin’s only mistake in their entire two-year relationship was about to be made; she trusted his intentions.
“I’m sorry, Percy. You’re right; I haven’t shown you I trust you. You have been good to me, treated me better than my other boyfriends, better than my friends, and even my parents. Just be gentle and don’t take very much of my blood, please!”
As she turned to lye back on the ground, she did not see the sinister smile that oozed across her boyfriend’s devilish face.
Gazing up at her beloved Percy, her eyes screamed with fear. She softly asked, “You won’t hurt me, will you Percy?” She raised her wrist, thinking he would take the blood from her wrist. When he frowned, she knew what he wanted. Slowly she slanted her head to expose her beautiful young neck.
Slowly, Percy moved his hands from the young woman’s neck and slid them down to her shoulders. With a sudden jerk, the softness in Percy’s touch was gone, replaced by a strength Erin had never felt before. Immediately, she realized she had made a mistake. The creature above her felt her fear. He stopped for a moment and scoffed, “I like it when my prey is afraid; it excites me.”
“But, you said you loved me,” she screamed.
“You silly little girl, I’m a vampire; I can’t love,” and with that, Percy showed her the face of his internal demon. “By the way, my friends and I are going to drink every ounce of your delicious virgin blood.” With that, he exposed his teeth and rammed his head into her young, tender flesh. After several moments of shock and dread, Erin’s screams turned to sobs, as Percy was draining her of her life’s blood.
After several moments of trying to fight Percy’s weight, Erin stopped fighting, and her eyes turned skyward. She felt the beast relax his weight and lift off of her for a moment, exclaiming, “God, there is nothing like pure virgin blood; join me, brothers and sisters!” She no longer had the strength to fight him off; instead, she lay there and continued to stare at the night sky.
“Excuse me,” someone with a thick British accent appeared in Erin’s vision. “Excuse me, Love,” he looked down into the deep pools that were the young woman’s eyes. “I think I need to explain that this isn’t your fault deary. I asked Percy to set you up. Percy really does like you. But, your father is a bit of the git! We are going to use you to deliver a message, Love.” He paused to look about the area; at his other friends coming from the woods and the crypts where they’d been hiding. “When are you humans going to realize that you are not our friends, our lovers, or anything else? You are our food, our victims, nothing more.” As a final insult, he added, “Rest in peace, Love.” He then raised his lips to bare his teeth and was gone from her sight.
Numb to the attack, ignorant of all the bites on her body, Erin had no strength left; not even enough power to scream for help. She had no choice but to lay there and wait until she slipped from this world into the next.
