He left the kitchen and walked over to her table and sat down in the chair next to her.

“Hi Michelle,” Hunter said, smiling.

“Oh, hey Hunt. What’s going on?” Michelle said, smiling back.

Hunter didn’t want to waste any time. He wanted to cut right to the chase and not deal with any small talk or beating around the bush.

“Want to um, go to the social with me tonight?” Hunter said, suddenly feeling nervous for being so bold and coming straight out with his question.

Hunter waited as Michelle looked at him and then peered off behind him.

“I… um…” Michelle said, then stopped speaking and stared above Hunter.

Hunter turned around. Hovering over him was Violet, standing there with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

“Excuse me, Michelle,” she said, as she pulled Hunter away from the table.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Hunter said, as he turned back around.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Violet asked back in a snarky tone.

Hunter stood there, looking back and forth between Violet and Michelle.

“Do you want me to tell everyone about your idiotic brother?” Violet said as she whispered into Hunter’s ear.

Hunter pulled away and shot her a dirty look. “You’re crazy,” he said.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Violet said, as she began to open her mouth wide.

“No! Don’t say anything. Stop,” Hunter said, as he put her hand to her mouth.

Violet stepped back and then motioned for him to leave the dining hall. As he was exiting, he turned back around to Michelle who was standing there, in shock at whole situation. He mouthed, “I’m sorry,” to her and then pushed open the door and went outside into the cold mountain air.

“Violet, what are you doing?” Hunter said. “You have no business coming over and pulling me away from Michelle.”

Violet pulled out her notepad and began reading. “His name is Benji, he is going back to Lyndvia to think about things, he told our secret to Rachel. Rachel lives in Bedford, New York.”

Hunter grabbed her notebook and she grabbed it right back.

“What are you doing?” Hunter asked.

“I took notes on what I heard the other day,” Violet answered.

“Notes? What’s wrong with you?” Hunter said, suddenly getting angry. “You could get him killed.”

“Exactly,” Violet said, with a creepy smile across her face.

“Listen, Hunter. I thought the other night was special. I thought you really wanted to be with me,” Violet said softly.

Hunter thought for a moment about their kiss. He knew he didn’t really like her, and by no means was falling for her, but it was the only way to keep Violet quiet.

“It was nice, it was,” Hunter said. “I think you’re a nice girl and all, but I’m really not looking for a girlfriend.”

“I want to be with you forever,” Violet said, clutching onto the notebook.

“I can’t do that,” Hunter said. “I don’t have the same feelings as you do.”

Violet picked up her notebook and waved it in the air. “You’re going to regret this,” she said.

“Violet, please. Don’t tell anyone. Please,” Hunter pleaded.

“You betrayed me, Hunter. Now you will pay. Or, at least your brother will,” Violet said, as she walked away from him.

Chapter Sixteen

Violet walked into her secret meeting room, which was in the attic of her dormitory. Everyone in her coven was waiting for her to arrive after she’d sounded the secret bells that only her coven could hear. The bells were only to be rung in dire emergencies, or when their coven was in danger. Violet rang the bells right after she’d left her upsetting conversation with Hunter.

In a rage, she entered the meeting and sat down at the head of the long rectangular table. The room was dimly lit by flickering candles and everyone was dressed in their coven uniform. They wore dark black robes, with an insignia on the breast pocket of a shield with a reindeer inside. On the reindeer’s neck were two fang marks, with blood dripping down the side of its neck. On the outside of this crest was the letter G, which stood for Greslin, the name of their coven.

“Meeting commencing,” Violet said as she took her wooden mallet and beat it against the table.

The room got silent and all the whispers and talking ceased.

“I called this meeting for the coven of the Greslin because of a recent finding that I overheard.”

The coven looked at Violet in suspense and waited for her to continue.

“It was spoken by someone of the Vladiccus Coven,” Violet said as she heard people oohing and aahing at her words.

“Our secret has been told,” Violet paused. “To a human.”

Loud bursts came from the Greslin Coven and the tone of the room grew louder and louder.

“Silence!” Violet yelled as she banged her mallet for order.

She waited until the room was still and quiet and then she spoke again, “We need to stop them before the word spreads further!”

“Yes!” screamed the crowed in unison.

“We need to find the Vladiccus vampire who did this and terminate his life.”

“Yes! Yes!” the crowd answered.

“We need to find the human and terminate her as well.”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” the crowd grew louder.

“Silence!” Violet yelled, and then paused.

“We must be quick with the actions we decide upon tonight. The more time that passes, the more likely it is that our secret will be spread. We must begin tonight.”

The coven nodded, agreed, and listened as Violet explained how they would go about their attack. She made it very clear who was to do what in this mission, and left no room for error.

Violet noticed that one of the vampires looked confused, “What is it?” she said.

“Where are they again?” the Greslin vampire asked.

“Lyndvia Castle,” Violet responded. “I can hear them now. They are together, he is showing her around and divulging all of our secrets to this human.”

“We must terminate!” the Greslins said loudly in unison.

The Greslin vampires stood up, pulled their black silk hoods up over their heads, and headed out of the dormitory attic to begin their mission. And Violet knew that they wouldn’t stop until everyone was dead.

Chapter Seventeen

Sarah sat at the dinner table, trying to distract her parents from asking about Rachel.

“We haven’t seen her all day, though,” her mom said.

“She’s still sleeping, I think,” Sarah said. “I haven’t heard a peep from her room all day.”

“I don’t know, something seems fishy about this whole thing,” her dad said, skeptically.

Sarah waited to see what her parents were going to do. She was surprised that they waited all day to question the situation.

“I’m going upstairs to check on her,” her mother replied. “This is unlike Rachel not to come down all day.”

Sarah sat at the table in suspense. She hoped miraculously that Rachel would be sleeping in her bed when her mom got up to her room. She hoped that she had snuck back in the house without her knowing.

“Sarah! Mark! Honey! Come quick! Rachel’s not here.”

Sarah looked at her father and brother, who looked startled by the news. She didn’t want to give away her secret so she put on a surprised face and headed up the steps quickly with her family.

“Rachel! Rachel!” her mom shouted.

As Sarah got to the top of the steps and into Rachel’s room she saw her mom standing there, holding Rachel’s journal in her hands.

She knew that Rachel kept her journal tightly locked, and then noticed the broken lock sitting on her desk.

She didn’t know what to do. She knew Rachel’s journal was private and she would never want anyone to read it, but it was too late. Her mom was shaking her head and letting out shrieks as she flipped the page.

“Sarah, do you know anything about this?” her mom asked in a shocked voice.

Sarah paused and tried to conjure something up in her head. She wasn’t a quick thinker, especially in high-stress situations.

“Um,” Sarah said.

“What happened,” her father demanded. “Tell me now!”

“Rachel’s in love with this guy, Benji, the guy who rides the motorcycle, the guy who beat up the kids at the dance. She went to see him,” Sarah answered.

“What do you mean, she went to see him?” shrieked her father.

“It says here,” her mom pointed to the writing in her journal.

“I have to find him. I have to go to the castle,” she read aloud.

“Kids,” her dad said firmly. “What is this all about? Do either of you know what is going on here?”

Sarah looked at Mark, who shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. She knew Mark wouldn’t have any idea what this was about. He was always so busy with sports and friends that he rarely even spoke to Rachel, let alone knew her private business.

“Sarah?” her dad asked, looking sternly into her eye.

“Well, I know she really likes this guy,” Sarah replied nervously.

“Where is she?” her dad asked.

“She went to visit him at the castle, I guess,” Sarah responded.

“This is whack guys,” Mark said. “I’m going back downstairs.”

Sarah watched as Mark calmly left Rachel’s room as if nothing was wrong. She wished he would be more invested, but it was clear he was still immature and self-centered.

“VAMPIRE!” shouted her mom. “He’s a vampire?”

Sarah stopped in her tracks and looked back and forth between her dad and her mom. She didn’t know what this was about, and was suddenly nervous. Her heart began to pound, as she worried for her sister’s life.

Sarah grabbed the journal out of her mom’s hands and began to read it. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The story of the kaleidoscope, the castle, her dream and their history together. She couldn’t determine if this was the start of a novel, or if