• Chapter 1 Two Worlds
    The music was blaring. Lights flashing, the cheering crowd, then, silence. The concert was over and it was time for me to go meet a vampire. You see, I'm sort of a vampire nut, and according to my books, the drummer is a really important one.
    As the crowd cleared, I wandered backstage. The halls were dark and vacant with red patterns on the wall that reminded me of "Blues Clues". I came across a door with one of Aphrodite’s symbols, a rose, plated with gold. Adonte mainly drinks beautiful teenage women’s blood, so he's quite a big fan of the Goddess of Beauty.
    I knocked and cracked open the door. "Adonte? Um... My names Zhulu Tyler. I need to talk to you." I walked in, the room was gorgeous. In one corner was a clear drum set with black drumsticks. There were two clear pillars, that were really fish tanks, and in the middle was a big red egg chair. The carpet was red with a big black rose in the middle.
    "Ah, Zhulu, how sweet of you to pay me a visit," Adonte's voice was angelic; he spun around to face me. "Yes, yes, I'm beautiful, I know." He was extremely beautiful, with his long blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes. It was almost intoxicating.
    "Modest, too, go figure. I just had to meet one of the most famous vampires in all of history," He gave me a curious look like he was questioning my sanity.
    "You are quite a woman, aren’t you Zhulu Tyler? Your bright red hair, so exotic, blue eyes that make a man's heart melt. Hmm..." He examined me while running his fingers through my hair and lifting my chin up. "Yes, you could make a fine vampire indeed. Good strength, quick on your feet, and by the look in your eyes, you're more of a fighter then a lover. But still, a lover none the less." He winked at me and walked over to a large chest near the drum kit. He pulled out a clear bottle with a spider design on it. A crimson liquid filled it halfway, it swirled as he passed it to me.
    "What's this?"
    "Blood. You will become a vampire, how much of one is up to you. If you're a full blood, you can run at the speed of light and pulverize anything that crosses your path, except another vampire, of course. Half-Bloods eventually become Full-Bloods and acquire half of a regulars powers. Take your pick. We’ll be visiting one of my favorite women, Council woman Shay Balehr,” He gave me an evil smile and waited.
    “Who said I wanted to become one?!” He can't just compliment me and then assume I want to become a vampire.
    “You don't want to become one?”
    “Well of course I do! Are you nuts? Inhumane strength, to run as fast as light. Of course I'd want to be a vampire. You can't just assume so, or force me. I know all about you, but you know nothing about me. I have quite a short temper, so watch out or I'll send you back to your powder blue coffin.”
    "How do you know about my baby blue?! Only my roommate Bobo and I know about that...”
    "I do my research. I also know that you have seven ex-wives, wanted to be a doctor when you were a kid, and that Bobo is a stuffed monkey." I flashed an evil smile of my own and looked Adonte in the and said, “Turn me into a half-blood.”
    “Then you must drink half the bottle.” I did as he said and instantly, pain shot through my veins. It felt like being stabbed with a thousand needles all at once. “Don't give into the pain!” Adonte screamed to me. The blood in my ears was pounding so hard I could barely hear him. I couldn't take it, I gave in. I crumpled to the floor, screaming in agony. I felt Adonte pick me and whisper, “Hold your breath.” And started running.
    ****************
    When I came to we were in a small town off the coast of New York. It looked like we were in the old west. There were old, rundown buildings and even a saloon. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before, every one dressed like they were from the 17th century. It kind of reminded me of Mackinac Island, but there are no cars, just horses. It was as if it didn’t exist to the outside world.
    "Zhulu, welcome to Tassleville. This is just one of the many safe houses in the world, where vampires like us can feed freely. You'll need it after that episode. They're completely cut off from the outside world so we can feed as frequently as needed without raising suspicion. The best part is that they never die. I think these guys are almost 5,000 years old. We can drink all we want and nothing will happen! It's amazing really."
    "I have read every vampire book known to mankind and I have never heard of these places! It’s not right; most of my life has been dedicated to the researching of vampires. What else am I oblivious to in the vampire world?!"
    He put me down and said, "Calm down, you'll attract unnecessary attention. You can't live your life on paper, there’s more to it than that. You have to go out, experience new things, and meet new people. How old are you? Sixteen?" I nodded, "I bet you've never even had a boyfriend."
    "So what if I haven't? I don’t need a man to be happy, books aren’t jerks and books can't hurt you." Adonte ran into a little shop and came out with a book in his hand. He lifted it high above his head and threw it at me. "Ow! What the heck was that for?!"
    "To teach you a lesson. Books can hurt you, and there will always be one man that will protect you and risk his life to protect you. I know we just met four hours ago but you can trust me. Always." Without another word he grabbed my hand and led me into the saloon.
    It was like stepping into a time machine; the girls were wearing corsets and fluffy skirts and serving the rowdy men drinks. Everyone was dancing and singing. The stage was huge and full of dancing women, Adonte’s heaven.
    "Hey! Look everyone; we got ourselves a pretty young thing here that’s got less clothes on then little Miss Linda here!" The bartender was talking about my short-shorts and black tank top. I guess that’s forbidden or something here. All eyes were on me immediately and suddenly I was up on stage. The one I assumed was Linda looked furious, she had on a little green and black dress with fishnets underneath. Mindlessly I started to dance along with the rest and tried to pick out Adonte.
    Men were trying to grab at my ankles and pull me off stage. I didn't like being the favorite of this crowd of pigs. "Hey hot stuff, why don't you come on down and come home with me!?" OK, that was enough. I jumped off stage and ran out the door. Adonte was waiting for me with a big stupid smile on his face.
    "Where the heck were you?! Those guys were all over me in there! It was insane! I trusted you and you lied to me!" He just kept on with his stupid smile. I was so furious I was shaking.
    "I was preparing you for my brother, James, who has a sort of crush on you." I felt my face go red, "Stop that, it’s not cute. He's bad, very very bad. There’s no one worse than him. He's a player and you need to stay away from him do you understand?" I nodded and we went to go find a place to stay the night. After all that, the pain from the previous day was starting to return.