i remember the day my mother died. It was a nice sunny day. Not a cloud in the sky. It was one of those days that makes you think nothing can go wrong. I woke up smiling. I ran downstairs to where my mother should have been making breakfast. I ran into the dining room but she wasn't there. There wasn't even breakfast. I ran into the kitchen to see if she was there but she wasn't. Next I checked the living room, her art studio, the loft even the bathroom. Starting to panic I ran upstairs to see if she was there. I checked every room finally stopping in front of her bedroom door. It was closed tight. Quietly I took a deep breath and pushed the door open and peeked in. My mother lay in the bed. Next to her a man was kneeling cradling her in his arms. His head was bent over close to her room was pitch black. Looking around I noticed that the curtains were taped shut. I looked back at my mother and the man and in the darkness I could just barely make out sparkling white of the mans teeth. I realized what was happening and taking a deep breath I sprinted towards the window and started ripping up the tape.i was half way done when I felt cold hard hands grab my shoulder and fling me back. When I opened my eyes I saw that the vampire was trying to get the tape back on the wall without much luck. I felt a spark of fear but looking at my mother's unmoving body I felt another spark. It was the spark of anger and it was stronger than the spark of fear. I gathered as much strength and leapt at the vampire. The vampire didn't see me coming until there was five long bloody streaks running down his cheek. He stopped attempting to put the tape back and turned to face me.

He hissed and started walking towards me. I started backing up the spark of anger that gave me courage had burned out. It was only when I hit the wall that I realized I could still beat him. I recalled where my mother hid her weapons. I turned and ran as fast as I could for her closet. I ran in and closed the sliding doors behind me using a hook to keep the door closed. Then I ran i and counted off the number of shelves. When I got to the third set I climbed up to the top and started feeling around. I felt the blade of a seraph blade and grabbed it. I jumped down and unhooked the door. I expected to see the vampire in the doorway but he was back at the window fastening the tape to the wall. I ran at him and kicked him the back so hard he stumbled back. I looked at my hands and realized that even though I was only ten I had a mean kick. The vampire started to run towards me I cut the curtain causing the curtain to come tumbling down letting the sun shine. The vampire shrunk back from the light and hissed. He ran towards the other window. I threw the blade and watched as it cut through the curtain of the other window letting the light in. The vampire swore and shrunk back. He hissed again and glared at me. He was boxed in. I ran to my mother's side. Her head moved a bit and looked towards me. Her eyes were slightly open. I watched as she opened her eyes then closed them again. She reached her arm out towards me and failed. I grabbed her arm and instantly tried finding her pulse. I turned towards her night stand and started searching through the drawers. I found her stele in the bottom drawer under a book of painting techniques. I turned towards her and grabbed her arm. I drew a sloppy iratze above her pulse and did another on her neck. I drew multiple iratzes around her body and watched as some of her color came back into her cheeks. "Mom we need to contact the conclave how do I do it." She turned her head in my direction. "You... you...you need to send them a fire message. In my night...nightstand there's a list of all their addresses." I turned towards the nightstand again and looked in the drawers. I found the list in the first drawer. Along with a pencil and pad of paper. Quickly I wrote five of the same messages and addressed them to different people. Then I made my way over to the fireplace by the door. I started a fire and threw each of the messages in one after another. Within fifteen minutes a knock came at the door. I made my way to the door but remembering the vampire I turned and went back into the closet. When I came out I had a vial of holy water and a clove of garlic. I sprinkled some water on the floor bordering where the light shone and then I sprinkled pieces of garlic around the windows, bed, and holy water. Next I covered my mother with holy water and garlic as well.

With that done I ran down stairs and opened the door. Instead of the conclave as I had expected there stood my brother and father. They were dressed in black with seraph blades slung into sheaths at their waists and on the backs. Jonathon wore a quiver and bow over his shoulder. I quickly tried to fill in the doorway although I was really small. Jonathon looked down at me (although he was only eleven he was taller than me by two inches.)and smirked. "Clarissa where is your mother?" Valentine asked his eyes dark with concern. He must have seen the change in my face when he mentioned mother. He frowned and pushing me aside walked to the staircase. "Jocelyn?" He yelled up to the second landing. He turned and walking up to me. Valentine crouched down to my height and grabbed my shoulders. "Clarissa I asked once now I'm telling you. Where is your mother?" Mutely I pointed up. "Did something happen? She and I were supposed to go out while you and jonathon stayed here." "There was a vam..vampir...vampire." I muttered under my breath. "what did you say." I said it again only loud enough that the vampire could have heard me. "Oh shit." Valentine said "where is he now?" "I...I trapped him." There was a moment of silence before jonathon burst out laughing and valentine pursed his lips. "Come on." He said and swung me up into his arms. Then he ran up the stairs to mother's bedroom. What I saw scarred me for life. My mother was on the bed her eyes closed skin as white as bones. Her skin seemed to sink into her so that we could see where every bone in her body started and stopped. Valentine stopped and stared. Slowly he put me down and rushed to her side. Her stele and seraph blade lay discarded where I left them. He shook her lightly but got no response. I went and sat next to her on the bed. "Father." "Not now." "But father." "No." Valentine said looking up. I saw him tense and looked where his gaze landed. There the vampire sat in the far corner where no light shone. He looked to be watching everything but not seeing anything. I watched as my fathers face went from a mix of horror and sadness to a mask of icy cold anger. In a movement too quick for me to follow valentine grabbed a sword from around his waist and held it out in front of him. He walked to the edge of the vampires prison and sniffed the air. "Good job trapping him in Clarissa." Then he reached down grabbed a clove of garlic and put it around his neck. After doing this valentine walked towards the vampire who had opened his eyes. As valentine grew nearer the valentine grew tender and tender until finally he jumped to his feet and leapt at valentine. Valentine stood where he was. The vampire grabbed a hold of valentine only to jump back at the sight of the garlic valentine put around his neck. Hissing the vampire retreated into a corner as valentine proceeded to slowly walk towards him. When valentine was only two feet away from the vile creature valentine drove the sword through its neck. The vampires head went rolling and landed at valentines feet. Valentines took a dagger out of his belt and cut out the vampires heart. Picking up the and the head valentine proceeded to walk over to the fireplace. He threw the head and the heart into the fire and watched as it burned to ashes. As I watched, Valentines hair looked almost like a white halo and circling his head Jonathan's went over and placed his hand on valentines shoulder. Valentine shook Jonathan's hand off. I looked back at my mother's lifeless face i couldn't help but stroke the pale face. I grabbed the vase of flowers that Jocelyn kept on her nighttable and placed the flowers within, in jocelyns hair and in her arms. Looking at this colorful collection of flowers I started to cry. I didn't see valentine until he picked me up and rocked me in his arms. "There there my dear. Your mother's soul may have left her body but she remains in our hearts." I nodded and sniffled. I then wiped my eyes and looked up at him. The morning light made him look like a guardian angel. "Clarissa there's nothing left here for you. Okay. I want you to go to your room and pack your clothes up and anything else you may want and meet me and your brother outside in the garden okay?" I nodded and he set me down. I hurried from the room and ran to my room at the other side of the hall. When I opened my door I was surprised to see two duffel bags on the floor zipped up. "I hope you don't mind I came in and packed for you." Jonathon said coming up behind me. Stunned I shook my head. "Good now lets go." He strode to the bags and grabbed them. "Wait I need to grab something first." I ran to my bed and pulled out a small suitcase and started throwing things in. My blanket, my art supplies, seashells, a small yellow duck and blue bunny attached at the hands, then carrying the suitcase I ran back to my mother's room and put some of her jewelry in along with her Stele and some other pieces of her shadow hunting things Shoving them into the suitcase as I ran out the room. I ran down the stairs and ran to my mother's art studio. I threw random things in. A couple art supplies, a couple mini paintings, normal sized paintings, papers and a bunch more. I started running to the front door but stopped as I passed the living room. The living room was the room that my mom and I usually sat in drinking hot cocoa and watched reruns of shows long forgotten. I stood in the doorway just staring. Everything in this room spoke of a happy day nothing special just a happy normal day. I went in and grabbed the quilt given to my mother by her mother. I grabbed a couple of the photos of my mother and I. Others of me my mother's best friend Lucian and some of me and my best friend Simon. Satisfied i grabbed all I wanted I dragged my suitcase towards the front door. I had to set the bag down to open the door. Valentine was waiting for me on the front steps his back to me. Jonathon was sitting on top of a stone bench in the garden polishing a sword. At the sound of the door being closed they turned their heads in my direction. Valentine came towards me and grabbed the suitcase from my hands with one hand and took my hand in the other. Jonathon came over and took my other hand. My duffel bags were at valentines feet. The air seemed to shimmer around us and then the yard disappeared and was replaced with a great white manor. "Welcome to idris clary."

"Clarissa...Clarissa... snap out of it they will be here any moment." I snapped out of my reverie and looked up. Jonathon stood looming over me. He thrust a bag into my hands. I opened it to see piles of clothes. Sighing Jonathon grabbed my hand and yanked me to my feet. On my feet I yanked my hand out of his grasp and scowled at him. "I think you dislocated my arm." I said. He smiled and shrugged. Then he did it again he pulled me towards the door but stopped in the doorway. He pushed me back in the room and closed the door. Then he proceeded with stacking all the furniture in the room against the door. He stood back to admire his work when the furniture started to tumble down. Then a sound came from the window. Jonathon strode to the window and thrust it open. Valentine stood there motioning for us to jump. Jonathon turned back grabbed my duffel and threw it out the window. Then he jumped. As always he landed on his feet. I looked down and saw it was a high jump. I gulped, turning and walked to the middle of the room. Just then the door burst open. Someone entered the room and looked around. I turned back to the window and started running. I ran to the window and threw myself out. I closed my eyes. I had not yet fallen for a second when I stopped falling. Thinking I had reached the ground I opened my eyes. The ground was five feet away. I looked up and saw to muscular hands gripping my wrists. The hands then started pulling me up. When I was high enough up he gripped my armpits and lifted me all the way in. I could hear my father and brother yelling something. I looked down at them and saw my dad pull out one of his throwing daggers. Thinking there was a small chance of hope left I watched as he took aim and was stopped by Jonathon. Jonathon pointed to their left. I followed his finger and saw two more people both with pale skin and pitch black hair running towards them. I looked at my father and met his eyes. He then mouthed four words, four words that planted the seed of hopelessness in my heart, and took off at a run in the opposite direction. Those four words were "we will be back." I gulped and watched their slowly retreating figures until the arms pulled me fully inside. I looked at my captor and stared.

sorry for the delay had trouble publishing