Chapter 1
It had been a long drive to Los Banos. Nessa, Trina, Thomas, Jack, Connor and Marcus were exhausted from the long drive. They’d decided to go back to Los Angeles after they’d killed Danton, the Reigns leader. Reigns were a group of ruthless vampires who were in search of two rings that Nessa and Trina had to complete a ritual that would enable them to walk in daylight and take charge of the mortal world.
It had been a battle for survival for the past couple of days and even though they’d all survived it, it had been such a close call with Thomas, Nessa’s boyfriend who almost got turned when he got bitten by a Reign. They were able to suck out the vampire’s blood and fortunately, he was still human.
Trina was Nessa’s sister. She’d just discovered her vampire powers of reading minds and hearing conversations over long distances. She was in love with Jack, an Aranea. Araneas were humans who could turn to huge spiders and so far, Jack had saved her numerous times.
Connor was Jack’s father and he was in charge of the Aranea group. He’d been friends with Marcus, a vampire who was a mentor to Nessa and Trina and they’d maintained the peace between vampires and Araneas.
They’d all survived an attack from the Reigns and in the process had managed to kill their leader Danton and decided to head back to the Araneas camp in Los Banos where Marcus, Thomas, Trina and Nessa would stay as they decided on what their next step would be.
As they pulled up in the Araneas drive way, Jack went out of the car and heard someone call his name.
“Jack!!!!” came the excited voice.
“Oh my god Ariel” he shouted as Ariel ran and jumped on him in embrace.
Jealousy crept up in Trina’s body and she felt her hands getting cold.
“Who the hell was this girl, and why was she so cozy with her boyfriend” she wondered.
“How’ve you been Ariel, I missed you so much, I see you grow uglier and uglier by the day” Jack teased.
“Uglier you said, huh, well thank god not as ugly as you, you little spider” Ariel teased back before they burst out laughing then stopped when they noticed everyone staring at them.
“Trina, Nessa, Thomas, Marcus, this is my best friend Ariel. We’ve been friends since we were kids and she is what we call a hybrid. She is half Aranea and half vampire” Jack explained.
Their faces lit up in surprise as they shook her hand stared in amazement.
“I’ve never heard of a hybrid before” Trina said as she looked at Ariel from head to toe.
She was by far the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. Her skin was almost white with her hair blonde and so long, it ran down to her waist. Her eyes were big and a dark blue with pink lips. Her face seemed so fair and even she was tempted to touch her. She looked so beautiful and when she smiled, her snow white teeth made her look like a beautiful painting, one that would be too beautiful to exist in real life.
“There’s very few of my kind, and we stay so far in the Himalayas. It’s been almost impossible to get to us and my parents have worked hard to make sure it stays that way” Ariel answered as she looked at Trina.
She had on a white gown that clung to her body from the shoulders to her waist then flared to her feet where she wore white boots.
“I’ve heard of your kind before but have never had the pleasure of meeting one” Marcus said as he looked at Ariel.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you sir” Ariel stated as she looked at Marcus.
“Well, you guys can get settled in and we can meet up later after you get some rest” Connor said as he turned and headed to his apartment with Marcus, Nessa, Thomas and Trina following him.
When they got to the entrance of his house, Trina stopped and looked back at Jack and Ariel. She noticed how cozy they were and how his eyes lit up as they spoke. It felt like he’d forgotten all about her, and as
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
John O'Riley
Brenda Sinclair
Christopher George
Stephen Lloyd Jones
Karl Iagnemma
Celya Bowers
Jill Gregory
Aria Cunningham