Prologue
Lily
I was sitting at my desk in class doing my homework when one of my so-called friends walked over and told me the nastiest rumor was going around and that it was about me. I was in second grade so rumors were rare and I didn’t really know how to handle one being about me. The girls around me were giggling and I had finally found out why. The rumor was that I still wet my bed and had to wear a diaper every night. This rumor was completely untrue but I didn’t know what to do about it so I just sat at my desk until school got let out and tried not to cry in front of everyone. Even at a young age I hated showing any signs of weakness. Then I found out that the girl who had started the rumor was my best friend at the time. This made me so mad I thought I could scream, and then I felt this odd poking feeling on my gums. It felt like someone was poking me with a sharp needle.
When I got home later I told my mom about what had happened. She calmly answered “Oh darling, you’re just an early bloomer.”
I looked at her scared and puzzled. What was going on with me? “What was poking me” I asked fearfull of the answer.
“Dear,” my mother told me to sit down, as though something shocking was about to come, “Those were your fangs.”
Fangs? What did she mean fangs! Then I connected it... she meant vampire fangs!
“FANGS...LIKE VAMPIRE FANGS!?” Now I was freaking out. I knew I was different from most girls but a vampire! I tried to stay calm because I thought that someone would pop out with a camera and microphone and tell me that I was on Fooled Ya, my favorite TV show.
“Don’t worry dear; it’s very natural you will be fine.” How could my mother be so calm when she was implying that I was a blood sucking leach!
“Wait so I'm a vampire?” I finally calmed down enough to utter that word...Vampire…eww, it sounded so gross.
“Yes dear, along with me and your father. There is a very long story about how we came to be and it is very hard to comprehend, even though you are such an intelligent child, so I will tell it to you when you are older. For now just know that you are a vampire and you can come to me with any questions you have. Also you are not allowed to tell any of your friends. If they find out you are a vampire not only will you be in huge trouble from the Elders for telling a human of our existence, but you will be looked on as a freak and I don’t want that to happen to my beautiful little girl.” The way she said human made it sound like we were from another planet, which was probably true.
“Wait will I have to kill people?” slowly everything was seeping in, “Will I have to drink blood!?” Eww never! I hate blood and get sick every time I saw it.
“Not yet, but eventually. For now you can go on with life as usual.”
How could I go on with life as usual? My mother had just told be I was a monster! But that wasn’t all, there was more.
“When you are older, specifically seventh grade, you will go off to a special school for vampires so you don’t have to hide you vampire needs.”
“Great,” I said under my breath, “now I can go be with some freaks who think they are vampires.”
Little did I know that my life was going to change forever just because of some stupid fangs!

This was the last time I would talk to my mother or father about my “little secret” as I called it. Both my parents died in a car crash that next summer before any of my questions were answered and I moved in with Angela, a nice but quiet girl in my class who also was a “vampire”.



Shawn
Ever since the day I was born I knew what I was, I was a vampire. While all the other children were told scary stories and told to fear these creatures I was told how passive and normal they are. I was taught that they drink animal blood and cause no harm to people. (Although when I was five I didn’t know this and tried to drink the blood of Luke, my archenemy, and also a vampire.) My parents openly drank blood at every meal and exposed me to the rules and the cultures of our kind so that I would grow up and accept who I was. I was also told about my Sufletul Prietene or soul mate. Each vampire has a special power, some common and some rare. And then there are the Special, like me. The Special are vampires with very rare powers. Only one of each of these vampires exists at a time. When an elderly vampire is about to die he or she passes their power onto a new born baby. The four Specials: sun, moon, past, and future only exist in one person at a time. I am one of those specials. I am the vampire of the past. All vampires have a Sufletul Prietene but if you are a special that person is even closer to you than regular Sufletul Prientene
I grew up as a very privileged child. I went to the best schools, got the best education, had a great family and friends, and had everything that I wanted. But no matter how good life was there was always something missing. Like there was someone out there that should be in my life but wasn’t. I felt like the tin man, alive but without a heart, without a purpose. I explained this to my parents and they knew exactly what I was talking about.
“She will be your polar opposite but right for you in everyway. She will know you better than anyone and make you whole.” They told me.
“How do I find her? How will I know who she is?” If she would make me whole then I had to find her.
“There is a possibility you could meet her by chance and if that does happen you will know right away she is your Sufletul Prientene, and if not someone will discover her at one of the many vampire schools around the country and we will be notified right away who and where she is. The council keeps records on all students once they specialize junior year and that is what makes this process possible.” This council seemed to have a pretty good plan set up.
“So if I am past what will she be? And how do we know she will be my age?” My words were starting to run together, there was no way I was dating some old lady.
“She will be the vampire of the future, and she will be your age, don’t worry. The Specials are given their powers at birth and always born and die on the same day.”
“Good.” I had no more questions. I knew someday I would find my other half and counted down to it the way the other kids my age counted down to Christmas.