1

Soft flakes of snow fell from the gray skies above, covering everything below in a blanket of white. Branches from bare trees bowed with the weight of the snow, the wood threatening to snap under the pressure.  There I stood, In the midst of a quiet winter storm, my small frame shivering from the penetrating cold of the night. Across from me, at the edge of the clearing stood Dmitri Malvor, the leader of the Vampires.  His crimson eyes pierced through my own, causing me to shiver from more than just the cold.

Dmitri wore armor forged from black metal, the usual attire for Vampire soldiers. A red cape was draped across his shoulders, making his pale skin seem to glow red. His long silver hair was tied in a ponytail, which cascaded down his back. I thought he looked like a true leader.

“tell me,” Dmitri started, taking a step toward me, “why are you, a human, in my territory?” i tried to make my gaze as hard and unwavering as Dmitri’s, yet i felt as if i failed.

“I am Taryn Ashevale. My father, the king of Ray’lith sent me in his stead. I am here to discuss the death of kali, my sister.” I felt proud of myself, since my voice did not falter or crack from nervousness.  Dmitri crossed his arms in front of his chest, his eyes narrowing.

“what does the death of the princess have to do with me?”

“you’re the leader of the vampires! Kali was found on the steps of a library in the town of Aelburn, completely drained of blood. Fang marks covered her throat, it had to have been one of your men.”

The man scoffed at the possibility. “Do you actually believe that one of my men would be so bold that they would breach the treaty between us and the humans, a treaty that has been in effect for hundreds of years?” He seemed floored by the concept. I felt my anger boil within my chest, the blood rushing to my cheeks. i knew i couldn’t let this man get to me.

“Listen,” I began, pinching the bridge of my nose, “all I'm saying is that there may be a rogue vampire that-“ an enraged look from Dmitri stopped me short.

“There are no ‘rogue’ vampires. Are you trying to insult my leadership by saying that I can’t control my own men?” he closed the gap between them in a few strides, towering over me. 

“I'm not saying that,” I said, glaring up into his glowing eyes, “no leader can control every person in their command. If they could then there would be no crime, murder, nothing like that. I do not insult your leadership skills with my words.”

That did it. Dmitri growled before he withdrew the sword hanging from his side, brandishing it before me. Gulping, I felt fear flood my senses as i gazed into my attackers eyes.

“Okay, princess,” he sneered, his blade pressing against my throat, “let me make this clear. None of my men attacked your sister, if they had, I would have known. What reason would we have to murder her? She means nothing to us. You humans are all the same. You think youre the best race there is, you’ve trampled over vampires for ages, and now the king sends his daughter to speak with me? Does he take me for a fool?”

not daring to speak, i stood still, for fear of igniting his anger once again. He laughed, low and dangerous, before sheathing his sword. “Tell your father, Aresis, that if he wishes to speak to me, to do it himself. I don’t need his little girl trying to take a council with me.”

I felt my cheeks redden in anger, but i bit my tongue and just nodded, staring him in his blood red eyes the whole time. Dmitri shook his head, before turning and making his way back to the vampire city Kuruk. All I could do was stare angrily in his wake.

The palace of Ray’lith, my home, was warm as I entered the lavish dining hall. Ray’lith was the largest city in our country Verwyn, and was populated entirely by humans. Ray’lith was known by all as the ‘Golden City’, because of the wealth that emanated from all of the cities advancements.

My sister and I were known as the ‘Daughters of the Sun,’ as we were the heirs to the throne of the city. Aresis, my father, was called the King of the sun. Although my sister was no more, for she was found dead on the steps of a library in Aelburn, a small town not too far from Ray’lith.

Every time I thought of her, I felt my throat tighten with the threat of tears.  Kali had been my everything. She was my best friend, as well as my only sister. And now she was gone. Why had she been in Aelburn in the first place? I had no idea. I probably never would, unless I found the person that killed her.

The air in the palace was warm, the opposite of the bone chilling winter air directly outside.  Smells from the kitchen greeted me, wafting through the open doors. I breathed deeply, taking in the scents of freshly baked bread and sweets. I glanced at the clock hanging over the dining room table, it read 6:30. That meant that any moment my mother and father would be coming down here to eat.

I didn’t feel like seeing them right then. I knew that I would have to explain what happened to my father eventually, but the disappointment and greif of the encounter weighed too heavily on my chest at that moment.  I walked into the foyer of the palace, and turned to the ivory white staircase in the middle of the room.

I ran up the stairs, being as quiet as possible until I reached the hallway. I turned to the door to my bedroom, entering silently. My room was very large, and decorated in deep rich shades of violet and red. My bed sat in the center of the room, it was large, made for a queen, with sheer purple curtains drawn all around.

With a sigh I laid down on the soft mattress, burying my face in the red satin sheets.  I could feel the sting of tears once again at the back of my throat. This time I let them spill forth, relishing the feel as they slid down my cheeks, wet and hot. I hadn’t cried in so long, it just wasn’t proper for a princess. But I just missed kali so much.

The day I found out she had been murdered, it was all I could do to just lay in my room for days on end, not daring to eat or even move. That one moment had changed my life forever. Everything I had ever known had been torn away from me with my sisters death. I was a different person entirely after I lost her. No longer was I the shy, carefree girl, I had turned into a cold, proper princess.

Shutting my eyes, I could almost feel her lay against me, as she used to when she was younger. I opened my eyes slowly, and gasped. Light filled the room, so bright it was almost blinding. I squinted my eyes against the abrasive glow, Sitting up in my bed and glancing toward the source of the light.

I felt my heart pound feircly against my ribs as I beheld the figure at the center of the light. Shaaking my head and rubbing my eyes to clear my vision, I thought that must have been a dream. In the center of the glow stood Kali, my dead sister. I backed up until my hezad hit the bed post.

“no… no way,” I stammered, barely above a whisper. What the hell was happening? I shook my head again, trying to wake myself from what had to be a dream. I looked up once again, she was still there. “what are you doing here?” I got out, my voice hoarse. She made no move toward me,she only looked at me with her ethereal glowing eyes.

She looked as she did the last time I saw her, her long blonde hair fell just past her shoulders, her eyes were the same baby blue I had become accustomed to. There was no mistaking it was Kali, but I thought she was dead?

“Taryn,” she said, “ive missed you so much since ive been gone.”

I shook my head, “no. you cant be here. You’re dead!”

“that’s true. Right now you’re the only one who can see me, because I have something very important to tell you.” She moved closer to me, “it was not a vampire that killed me.”

I breathed in sharply. What was she saying? “but your body was completely drained of lood, there were fang marks on your neck!” I was sitting up now, Wide eyed and excited. Kali was here, in front of me, just a stone throw away from where I sat.

“They wanted it to look like a vampire attack. They knew that whoever killed on of the Daughters of the Sun would have a bounty on their heads. That’s why they made it seem like it was the vampires, since there’s so many of them it would be hard to track down the exact culprit. And since humans and vampires have a treaty, no action could really be taken without a war starting.”

I shook my head, confused. “Who did this? You have to tell me!”

“there isn’t enough time. Every second I’m here I run the chance of being discovered. The dead aren’t supposed to walk among the living. Sometimes, though, that’s exactly what we do.”

Before I could ask her what she meant, she began to fade. Panic settled into my chest, was she leaving again? If she did would I ever see her again? She just came back to me! I couldn’t possibly feel the pain of losing her again!

“Kali! Please don’t leave me! I can’t bear to lose you again!” before I could say another word, she had disappeared completely, leaving nothing but clear air in her wake. I collapsed back unto the bed. I felt tired, like I was completely drained of all my energy. Kali was here, she was just in front of me moments ago. And I let her go once again.

Confusion clouded my mind. According to Kali, it wasn’t a vampire that killed her, but if not, who did kill her? Not a sinlge person came to mind. Rey’lith was the largest and most powerful city in Verwyn, there was no way someone would murder the princess, and envoke the entire city’s wrath, right?

But someone had. Someone was brazen enough to take Kali’s life. Everyone knew how powerful the Rey’lith was, yet they still killed her. They must have been confident that no one would suspect that it wasn’t a vampire that killed Kali, but why would they frame the vampires?

Of course Rey’lith DID have a treaty with the vampires, one that’s been around for over a century. The treaty stated that as long as the vampires didn’t come within human territory without a permit, they would be allowed to drink blood from the city’s prisoners each week. The treaty also stated that no human would harm a vampire without proper cause and vice versa. So far the vampires had always kept their word on the treaty, which made it strange to think that one would break it now.

Getting out of bed, I realized what I would have to do. I would have to find my sister’s killer. To do that, I knew I would have to talk to Dmitri. Vampires always seemed to know whatever was going on in Verwyn, it was likely he knew something about it. Talking to Dmitri may be have been a long sot, but I would do anything to avenge my sister, and find out the reason for all of this.

I descended the staircase into the foyer quietly, I didn’t want to talk to anyone yet but my father. He had sent me to speak with Dmitri earlier, since he was far too busy with everything that was happening in Rey’lith due to the outrage about the death of my sister. Armed guards were supposed to have escorted me, but I went on my own way before they could come.

My father must have been terribly angry about that, and he must be worried too, since I haven’t seen him since my return. Sighing, I made my way to my father’s study. Three times I knocked before the door slowly swung open. There stood my father, his black hair a mess, dark circles were apparent under his eyes. I knew he had been worried sick about me.

“Taryn, where have you been? I was about to send the entire armed forces out to find you!”

“Sorry, dad. I went and saw Dmitri by myself which I know was stupid, but i-“

Anger flashed across his face. “you WHAT? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? You could have been killed! I knew it was a bad idea to send you in my stead.”

I shook my head. “But father, I found out it wasn’t even a vampire that killed Kali!”

“How do you know?!” His face was a mask of fury.

I had trouble finding my voice. “she… she told me.”

“who told you?”

“kali, just a few kinutes ago. She appeared in my room, father! She was a ghost!”

My father’s eyes widened, before he gently pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Taryn, I’m afraid the death of your sister may have been too much for you. You're seeing things. I think you should just go in your room and rest.”

I couldn’t believe it! He thought I was crazy! But I knew what I saw, it couldn’t have been a hallucination, or a figment of my imagination! I took a step toward my father, determination in my eyes. “I KNOW she was there. It was real, it HAD to be!”

“Taryn, you have to realize how ridiculous this sounds. You should know that once someone dies, their spirit crosses over to the Land of the Dead, where they stay and await their family members. There’s no way someone could escape, there’s no such thing as ghosts.”

My clutched fists began to shake. How could I get through to him?! Then it hit me. Of course my father would never listen to me, but he might listen to Dmitri.