Chapter 2

I woke up on what felt like a normal morning. It felt as if I had never left home with the warmth of the California sun on my face and the patchwork quilt underneath me. Maybe I had dreamt of a weirdly detailed trip but with the details fading fast and the smell of coffee pulling me into consciousness I decided there was no way I had left home. It was honestly a bit of a relief that I hadn’t left home, I thought before opening my eyes. I just couldn’t remember why I was relieved.

Then I opened my eyes and the relief vanished along with all remaining details of the dream I thought I had. What kind of trick was this?
This wasn’t my bedroom and it definitely wasn’t my house. I was in what looked like an attic with one open screenless window, laying on a small rickety bed surrounded by both live and drying plants hanging from every surface that would allow. I sat up, putting my bare feet on a well-worn rug, and took in the scene of the hanging plants around me.

Why was I barefoot?

Who’s house was this?

How did I get there and why couldn’t I remember it?

I knew that I should try to find a way to get home but something felt wrong and I couldn’t understand what it was.

The sound of quick heavy footsteps caught me off guard and I found myself staring at a girl who had thrown open the only door in a rush. She stood there as if she was expecting a fight, knife in hand and her feet firmly planted on the flat surface of the wood floor, but I didn’t move.
I just blinked at her; taking her in with my confusion growing.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my house?” she demanded. “I swear, vampire, if you broke in here looking for a snack, it will be the last thing you do.”

No one had broken into this place from what I had seen already so I took in the girl wondering who she was and why she thought I had broken in.
She was a skinny thing in a patchwork dress, bare feet, and crazy curly dark hair. I realized that she was threatening me but I didn’t know how to answer, so I put my hands in the air to surrender but she didn’t like that either.

“This isn’t some random Bed and Breakfast you can drop into to avoid the sun.”

She said that but I could feel the sunlight warm on the side of my face and arm.

Then I heard footsteps coming up behind her and the woman accompanying them arrived at the door a moment later.

“Mariella, she’s not here to eat us. Raven is your cousin.”

“But witches don’t turn,” the younger retorted.

“They do if they don’t know that they’re a witch.”

I dropped my hands, realizing that I was still holding them in the air. These women were clearly crazy and I was uncomfortable because I had no idea how I got there or why. There was no such thing as vampires or witches. My father had driven that point home too many times for me not to believe him despite my love of young adult novels when I was in school.

“Alright, I’m sorry but I don’t know you and I shouldn’t be here. I’m sorry for whatever happened to get me here. I’ll just get out of your house and be on my way,” I announced carefully.

I stood up and went to straighten the dress that was sticking to me only to realize that the reason it was sticky was the blood all over my front.
From the smell, I knew it was human blood. My brain also somehow knew that it wasn’t my blood so searching my body for wounds was stupid.
Then I realized in some kind of mental flashback that the blood had belonged to a young girl who I had ripped apart after drinking her blood. I remembered that she tasted like sweet liquor that sent a rush of warmth through my body, but now something was different and I didn’t want her blood. I was hungry for something else; something wrong.

“Raven,” the older woman tried. “Raven, honey, relax and breathe.”

“There’s something wrong,” I whispered.

“She doesn’t have control of the bloodlust. She’ll rip us apart before we can cast anything,” Mariella accused with her hands raised as if she were blocking me from grabbing her.

“No, I don’t want your blood. Something’s wrong,” I responded.

“Mariella, go down to the kitchen and make some tea. Raven is going to get cleaned up and then I’ll explain everything to both of you.”
“Grandma, seriously, that’s a vampire. What makes you think that you can trust anything she says?”

“Mariella,” the older woman hissed with disapproval. “Go to the kitchen. I taught you better than to disrespect family.”

Mariella glared at me as a warning then stormed away. With her gone, most of the tension left the room but I was still looking for a way to make the feeling of my skin crawling go away.

“Raven, sweetie, it’s okay. Take a deep breath for me and it will be better when you relax.”

“I’m a vampire? How did that happen? How did I get here? How is this even possible?” I babbled, trying to look myself over but not knowing what I was looking for exactly.

“A friend brought you here, honey, so that I could tell you about your family and teach you about the magic you possess. He fed you his blood to help you calm down, but we don’t have much time. Warren will be here soon.”

I shook my head. “I’m hungry. I need to leave. It’s not your blood I want.”

The woman looked confused, but when I went for the window, she didn’t stop me.