"Well, you see, dear," Anne-Marie began once she and her niece were seated by the fire with large mugs of hot chocolate, "your father... isn't like other men."
Kat remained silent, knowing that listening was the best way to learn. It had stood her in good stead over the last 100 years, and she'd learned more than even her aunt probably realised.
"Your father... My brother... Is a vampire."
Anne-Marie paused to look for Kat's reaction, but was not really surprised not to see one. Raw emotion was a powerful tool, to be used and harnessed - a good sorceress never let it go to waste.
"And so is your sister."

Kat silently digested this new piece of information. It did make sense, actually, when she thought back on her childhood, before Jade had gone away. The occasional finding of a dead animal when she was out on a walk, the way Jade had always stared when she cut herself, and the way she sucked on cuts when they were bleeding. And then there was her dreams. Dreams of blood, dripping throats, tearing flesh... Kat had dreamed of such things regularly until she was 13. Then once Jade had left, the dreams had become less frequent, and once she had learned better control of her mind, they left almost completely. Kat had realised a long time ago that the dreams were linked to her proximity to her twin - the closer she was, the more vivid and realistic her dreams - but never before had she considered that her sister may be a vampire. Kat decided to do a bit more study on vampires. She and Anne-Marie talked a little longer as the fire died down, Kat absorbing every piece of information Anne-Marie offered. Once Anne-Marie had exhausted her supply of information not already written in The Book, they said goodnight and went to their respective beds.

The first thing that Kat did when she awoke in the morning was remove The Book from its shelf, and turn to the section on vampires. Reading it took all morning. By the time she had finished, she knew a lot more than she had to begin with. It made her very curious to meet her father properly, and also her sister - to see what she had become.

Kat moved about the small kitchen, selecting herbs to make a pot of tea, then leaving it to brew as she made herself a light lunch. Hers was a peaceful existence. Anne-Marie and Kat lived in the midst of a large forest in the mountain. Their little cottage resided near fresh running water, and the entire area simply teemed with wildlife. Whenever she wasn't learning or working, Kat would climb an available tree and lay on the branch and listen. Anne-Marie was often up before the sun, going out in the forest to collect herbs, nuts, grain, and other essential items for their survival. Once a year, they would venture out to the nearest town to buy the things the forest could not provide. The trip took 2 weeks, and Anne-Marie always appeared exhausted afterwards, although Kat loved the chance to observe the people and absorb the atmosphere of the town.

Collecting her tea, her lunch, and The Book, Kat moved out by the stream to read some more. She climbed with great agility up the huge tree until she was about 18 feet from the ground, where she settled down in her favourite spot. The Book rested in a convenient fork of the branch, and the teapot rested in front of it, with a small shoot through the handle. It wouldn't stop it from falling, of course, but it offered a little more stability than it would have otherwise had. Kat sat on the branch with her back against the trunk, and peered down towards the ground. Amongst the leaves, she could see items of her clothing, where they were hanging to dry after being washed the day before. Wondering idly if they would be dry, Kat began nibbling her lunch, listening to the birds chirruping excitedly to each other.

After finishing her lunch and her tea, and hanging the teapot from a more secure branch, Kat lay down and began to read. It was some time later that she realised that the birds chirruping had changed in pitch. Instead of the happy every-day chatter, they chirruped at a higher, sharper pitch, signifying danger. Kat shifted the bookmark, and closed the book. She left it in the tree as she made her way swiftly upwards, looking around for the source. It only took a few moments to spot Anne-Marie rushing through the forest towards the house. Kat swung downwards until she reached the ground, then hurried towards the house as well.

She had only been inside moments when Anne-Marie reached the house, moving faster than should have been possible for a woman of her age. Kat was already moving about in the kitchen, packing up all their carefully gathered stores into soft hand-made cloth bags.
"Where is The Book?" Anne-Marie gasped as she entered the house.
"Up the tree," Kat replied, finishing with the food and herbs, and moving to her room to pack her clothes in another bag.
"Which tree?" cried Anne-Marie in exasperation, before rushing to her room and drawing out from her chest a bag made of Nyx-hair.

Blessing the bag, Anne-Marie hurriedly thrust all her precious and magickal items into the bag, not caring about the order, just making sure they were in there. Then she moved to the kitchen and added the food, and when Kat left her room, her clothes. Nyx-hair was special, in that it had magickal properties. This particular bag was crafted to hold as many items as you wished. The only catch was that you could only bring out the items in the reverse order that you had put them in.

Anne-Marie thrust the bag into Kat's hands.
"Quickly! Put this up the tree! High!"
Immediately, Kat ran to her tree and began to climb. She soon stopped though, to gather her clothing from the branches. She didn't quite know what they would be hiding from yet, but she knew that clothing hanging from a tree would be a sure sign that someone was around. Hastily adding her clothes to the nyx-hair bag, Kat swarmed up the tree to where she'd left The Book, the teapot and the few remaining crumbs of her lunch. Kat placed one hand over the cover of The Book.
"Shrink," she commanded, and the book instantly shrunk to the size of her hand.
Kat pushed The Book into the bag, along with the teapot, her plate, and cup.
Then she moved higher up the tree. The birds were silent now. At about 30 feet from the ground, in a deep, shadowy part of the tree, Kat hung the bag.

From her vantagepoint, Kat could see Anne-Marie leave the house and begin hurrying towards the tree. She couldn't see what they were hiding from though. When Anne-Marie was 1/4 of the way between the house and the tree, she fell, twisting her ankle violently.
She sound of her cry took a moment or two to reach Kat's ears. Kat was about to start down the tree to help her, when a figure emerged from the trees. Kat froze. She had no doubt that *this* was what they had been hiding from.

He was tall and slim, with light, sandy blonde hair and pale skin. That was all Kat could see. He did, however, have a very distinctive aura, once Kat had thought to look for it. It was a dark, dirty red, mixed with swamp green, and the edges were tinged with black and were very fuzzy. As Kat watched, he approached Anne-Marie. The two spake for several long moments, and Anne-Marie kept her eyes on him every moment. Then, suddenly, he reached for her throat, lifted her to her feet, and started at her. Anne-Marie began to cast the beginnings of a spell, but he obviously recognised the sensation, for before she really began, he bent his head and opened her throat with his teeth.

Kat stayed perfectly still, deep in her hideaway in the tree whilst the vampire fed from Anne-Marie. He was obviously quite young - only 25 years old, at most - and he gorged himself. Kat stayed where she was as he searched the house, then destroyed it in a fit of rage. She stayed where she was when he went away. She spent the night in the tree. And all of the next day. The following night, he returned, and investigated the area, sniffing. He was obviously dissatisfied with the result, because he left in a wrathful mood.

It was only after he left the second time that Kat ventured down from her tree. She buried the body of her Aunt and replanted a sapling over her grave. Then she moved back up the tree and collected the nyx-hair bag. Sitting on the grass, she systematically emptied the bag until it was completely empty, and began to re-pack.

By the time she was finished, it was almost dawn. Kat dressed in brown leather pants, a soft dark green shirt, a vest that matched the pants, and soft leather boots, which she removed from the wreckage of the house. Then she set the ruins on fire. Kat shouldered the Nyx-hair bag, and wrapped a deep green cloak around her shoulders. She placed Anne-Marie's two golden bracers on her wrists, cut herself a staff from her tree after asking it's permission, and then set out in the direction of her twin. She knew that's where she needed to go to get some answers. It was, at least, a starting point. Kat only hoped it would lead to some information, which would aid her in The Hunt. Anne-Marie's death would be avenged. And Blue-Rose would be the one to avenge it.

***

Jade tossed and turned restlessly in her bed. She was dreaming again, of floating. The scent of bayberry surrounded her, and leaves brushed her face. She was floating in a sea of leaves, but inside she burned...

Jade awoke with a start. She'd been having the same dream for weeks now, always floating in an ocean of leaves, burning inside. It was night, and she felt fierce hatred burning in her breast. But for who? All she had was a vague image of a light-haired vampire, seen from a far distance. It could be anyone. Restlessly, she left her bed and moved down-stairs. Daniel was out. Jade sniffed. He'd been gone for almost an hour. She had a strange urge to go for a walk, but it wasn't her usual desire to feed. With a shrug, Jade dressed, and left the house.

After walking the streets for about half and hour, Jade began heading in a northerly direction. She left behind the inner city and reached the suburbs, about the same area where she and Daniel had made short work of Michael and his little friends a month or two ago. It had been about then that she'd started having the dream. Momentarily, Jade wondered if the two events were connected, but dismissed the thought from her mind as a figure emerged from the side-street down the road. The exact street she and Daniel had frequented that night.

The girl, for it was very obvious she was a girl, moved with a similar unconscious grace that vampires possessed, but she was not a vampire. She didn't smell like one. She smelt... like home. Memories washed over Jade in an instant as the girl approached. When they were only 2 metres apart, the girl stopped.
"Anne-Marie is dead," Kat said. "I need your help."