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thought of age, she could hardly believe she'd lived for so
long when in the beginning she'd hated it so much. Andrew
stirred and she flashed back to him standing in the woods by
a cemetery. It was out of place. The whole scene was wrong.
What the hell was Andrew doing there? He was dead ... and
where was Simon? Gods, she didn't remember getting back to
the castle after Crimson took Simon's heart. It was autumn
when they hunted for him. The pain in her back must have
healed with sleep. Maybe that was why it seemed so strange.
Maybe her sleep had been longer than she'd realized.
Jacquelyn ran her tongue over her lips and shook her head,
but then she got the aftertaste of Andrew's blood in her
mouth.
She stopped then.
That was impossible.
Jacquelyn ran from the room and out the door to be met
with a hallway she didn't recognize. Everything was different.
She glanced at her clothes. She was wearing breeches and a
shirt that wasn't hers. Taking a few deep breaths, she
steadied herself. Within her mind, she felt the bonds that
connected her to the others. One of them was Andrew and
another one was Trevor. How was that possible? Simon had
killed him. She had found the body. She had gone to Crimson
in the first place because she was tired of all her loved ones
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being killed. Panic settled in her brain, but she squelched it
for a second and listened for Crimson's heartbeat.
Running down unfamiliar hallways, she discovered Crimson
leaning over one of her desks, keeping records. Jacquelyn
stopped and had a flash of memory, like a recent dream. She
was meeting this woman for the first time and Crimson had
her hands around her throat, but somehow she had found the
strength to pry her off.
Strange. Crys hasn't done anything like that since I
refused the necklace she gave me, but that was centuries
ago.
"Crimson, what the hell's going on? How did Andrew end
up in my bed? And where the hell are we?"
The other vampire looked up and smiled. "I'm surprised
you're awake. Your turning should have taken another couple
of days, but then again you were already halfway there
before you met Andrew. I think it's best this way."
"Damn it! Tell me what the fuck is going on! I wake up
with Andrew beside me, not that I mind, but he's been dead
for four hundred years, and that is not a ghost I slept with.
What kind of stunt did you pull? And where the hell are we?"
"Amara, calm down. You should eat something before we
go any further. You know you were always crabby if you
didn't eat after you woke up. That was why Andrew hated to
force feed you."
"Why are you calling me Amara? What's going on?"
The other vampire said nothing, but dragged Jacquelyn
after her. She tried fighting, but Crimson had always been
physically stronger. As she walked, she could smell the
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human stock below. Finally, they reached the servants'
quarters and, without question, Crimson walked in, surprising
three of the servants. They all wore black and had pale
makeup. The place smelled of sex and some other sweet
substance that she curled her nose at.
"Take whichever one you want, love."
Jacquelyn said nothing, but licked her lips. She liked the
one reading a book, who looked more prim and proper than
the others. She smiled at the child and touched her face. Her
flesh was warm and she returned the gesture. Without
question, the human bared her neck and the vampire saw
other bite marks, but she didn't care. She took the girl in her
arms and plunged her fangs into the child's throat. Once the
sweet blood hit her mouth, she was enraptured. It had been
so long since she'd allowed herself this ecstasy. It was
sweeter than she remembered and stuck to the roof of her
mouth. For the first time Jacquelyn noticed that she felt no
remorse when she drank. This was what she had been meant
to do. Somehow, her sleep had helped heal her heart. The
more she drank, the more events settled into place. At first,
she assumed it was the memories of her victim, but no. They
were hers.
The memories played over in her mind, tumbling over a
dam. Jacquelyn grew up, lived a mortal life, experiencing
everything through the eyes of a human. Her vision was
obscured by the world around her because she was unhappy.
Because she was trapped inside the mortal coil and there was
no way of getting out, no way of letting anyone know she was
there, except for the few souls that she was connected with.
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Trevor, Lisha and Joshua. She recognized Lisha as Lydia,
though Trevor and the others were the same. Questions
formed in her mind. She threw the girl away, still alive.
Crimson said nothing, but followed her back to the library
where they sat down in front of the cold fireplace.
"Crys what where am I? Why do I remember these
strange things? It's like I've lived another life. Why is Andrew
upstairs? Simon murdered him ages ago and broke my
heart."
Crimson sighed. "You died, love. Don't you remember the
night before we went to kill Si? You came to me and told me
he wanted you to take my heart and get rid of me so you and
he could be together. He promised you that I'd come back
one day and we'd all be together. He wanted the power to
resurrect Kathryn. That was why he kept killing even after
she died. Somehow, her spirit broke through the veil of death
and was able to speak to his mind and keep him insane. That
was why he wanted to control you and kill me. I forgave you
for your little slip in judgment. We were friends until the end.
Simon broke your back. You were dead for eighty-six years,
but then you returned. Born into a mortal body. You found all
of us again. Andrew did the same, only he lived mortal
lifetimes in between and that changed the very nature of his
soul. He has learned some lessons. He's no longer the prick
he was before. All of his memories are there. Unlike Andrew,
you reincarnated without living human lifetimes in between
your death and this incarnation. You shouldn't have come
back to the fold so quickly. There must have been a reason
for it. Do you know why you did? None of my powers can see
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into your future. You are a mystery, almost as if the gods are
testing me or shutting down my abilities. I still have them,
but with you, I haven't been able to see."
"But you're the Record Keeper. Your knowledge spans
generations. You were going to have me take your place, or
at least let me share the burden with you. I remembered
that, but not the part about making a deal with Simon. Why
would I have done that?"
Crimson said nothing, but only looked at the distraught
vampire.
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