Blood Diaries
Vampires and Werewolves
Series introduction
Born Again
ISBN: 9781310223556
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First Edition
© Copyright 2016 Jason Daniel
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual events or locals or persons, living or dead, are coincidental.
About the Series
Blood Diaries Vampires and Werewolves is a genuine mix of paranormal, new adult horror (mostly light horror) with a mix of thrilling suspense, romance, and dark fantasy’s. The stories revolve around several different characters and follow their lives in the dark, secret world that is carefully kept hidden from humans.
Born Again
There was a time when people believed in evil; they feared that which cloaked itself in the shadows and remained unseen. Unfortunately, that cannot be said today. In today's world, evil has been forgotten, one might even say ignored. My name is Daniel E. Mitchell, and I was born in the summer of 1772. As a child, I was taught to fear the night and the dangers that lurked in the darkness. But like so many of us, as I got older, my fear waned, and it wasn’t until the day I met her that I realized how afraid I should have been.
Not many people can point to a particular moment in their life and say it was that moment, that single event that changed their life—I can. It was late summer of 1792. I had just turned twenty years old, and my life was perfect. I had steady work at the local wood yard, helped my Father on the family farm, and would soon marry my sweetheart, Kristina Sherman. Kristina and I had known each other since childhood. We had been courting for almost two years, and she was almost eighteen years old—the age her father agreed was suitable for marriage. A simple detail that you would think escaped both of our Mother’s, as they had been planning our nuptials for almost two years. For the most part, my life was going as planned. I had a few close friends a loving family and would soon be married to Kristina. Life was challenging and demanded hard work, but it came with considerable rewards.
I believe it was a Saturday if my recollection is correct. Most of our small town had gathered on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay that day, for another local wedding. It was a beautiful late summer day, sunny and warm with a gentle breeze that blew away the stifling humidity. After a day of dancing, games, and food, the celebration started to slow down. It was getting late, but a few of us stayed to clean up and then go for a swim.
Franklin Sherman, my closest friend and soon to be brother in law, was the first of us to notice her. He claimed he had seen a beautiful woman walking towards us on the path leading back to town. When I looked to where Franklin pointed, there was no one there. Naturally, I assumed he was hallucinating; after all, he drank a lot of rum that evening. As Rose and Evelyn swam, Kristina and I cleaned up and jokingly teased Franklin about his rum fueled delusions. It was at that time that we heard three men approaching us from the same path. We all knew who it was, and we quickly started to pack our belongings to leave. It was the three Jacobs brothers, and for the times, they were bad news. The type of people you don’t want to know, troublemakers and drunks. They were an intimidating lot; big, brawny guys that made their way in the world by swinging felling axes for the local wood yard by day, and drank themselves into trouble at night. As they approached us, they started taunting the girls. When the girls turned to Franklin and me for help, it only served to incite the brothers’ insults. Jonathon Jacobs walked up to Evelyn and grabbed her by the waist, twirling her around as if they were dancing. His brothers, Walter, and William inspired their brother with chants of encouragement and hurled insulting taunts towards us.
I don't know who threw the first punch. All I'm able to recall is being struck several times in the back of my head; but as I fell to the ground, I briefly saw, what looked to me like, an angel. She came at us from the tree line in a blur. When I was finally able to see her clearly, her grace and beauty were astonishing. She was average in height and slender with strawberry blonde hair and pale pearl tone skin. Her dress was emerald green with white lace trim and flowed over her like ripples in a slow stream. Her long strawberry blonde hair reflected the firelight like tinsels of golden silk. She was an elegant creature, a perfect example of how beautiful the female form could be, and she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.
Horrific, blood-curdling screams for help echoed out over the bay. As I flirted with consciousness, I saw the angel delivering total destruction. She moved with impossible speed, and her strength was inhuman. She tossed the two youngest Jacob brothers around as if they were rag dolls. Within several seconds, she turned her attention to William, the oldest, and by far the biggest of the brothers. In the time it would take to blink an eye, she covered the forty feet between them, leaping onto his back as he tried to run away. I watched as she grabbed his long, shaggy hair and yanked his head straight back. William Jacob's knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground. Suddenly, she lunged at his neck as if she was biting him. William's pleas for mercy went unanswered and slowly faded. My last site before fading into unconsciousness was an angel standing over me, peering down at me with a curious smile, as her finger lay lightly on her lip.
The next memory I have is waking up in a cave located in the County of Calvert. I knew exactly where I was, I had played around the caves as a young boy. As I sat up, I heard her voice for the first time. "You must be thirsty. You've been sleeping for some time now." She said, then handed me a small wooden bowl. I had no idea what I was about to drink, but it smelled sweet and tangy. As I swallowed the first small sip, euphoric waves washed over my entire body. Within seconds, I had devoured the whole bowl, and as I looked up, she just smiled. "I'm Grace," she said,
"What shall I call you?"
Dazed and disoriented, all I could do was stare back at her, blankly. Inside my mind, I knew I should be concerned about my friends and even the Jacob brothers, but all I could muster were the words, "More, may I have more?" I handed the bowl back to her, and Grace grinned as she told me to wait for her to return, and then stood and walked to the back of the cave. As I sat and waited, I looked out of the mouth of the cave towards the Chesapeake Bay. The view was stunning. I could see everything, even the opposite shoreline. I could see the leaves on the trees as they rustled in the wind, and as I looked closer, I could even see the small birds as they fluttered from branch to branch. Just then, Grace returned with two bowls. As she handed me one of the bowls, she pulled it back teasingly, once again asking my name.
"I'm Daniel... Daniel Mitchell," I answered impatiently.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Daniel. Have some more,” she bent down as she handed me the bowl, her eyes focused on me as she waited for my reaction.
As I took the bowl from her hands, the aroma had already reached deep inside me. The scent was overpowering and was promptly accompanied by an overwhelming sensation that deepened into euphoria as I drank. "What is this?" I asked.
"The taste is pleasing to you, is it not?" She anxiously waited for my answer as her eyes carefully measured my reaction.
"Yes, what is it?" I repeated.
With a devilish smile, Grace answered me, "It's the big guy. He's delightful isn't he?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked frantically. "Where are my friends? Where is Kristina? What the hell did you do to me?" I demanded answers, but a part of me suspected what she had done to me and what she was.
"Calm down," she said in a comma
nding tone, then immediately softened her tongue, "Everything is okay. You will see. Everything is fine," she said.
"What do you mean everything is okay?" I scoffed. "Where are my friends, and what, in Gods name, have you done to me?" I screamed as I slumped forward and fell onto my hands and knees, pleading for her to answer my questions.
"I will answer all your questions," she promised in her soft, angelic voice. "As for your friends, I left all of them alive and well. More than I can say for the three men that seemed so fond of your group. As for you, Daniel, I've made you perfect," Grace said proudly, her smile beaming like she was a proud parent.
"What do you mean, perfect? What have you done to me?" Looking back, I don't know why I bothered asking. I knew the tales my parents spoke of, and the legends that Franklin and Kristina's father regularly reminded people of. There were monsters in this world. Monsters that preyed on people like wolves preyed on deer. They lived for one reason, and one reason only, blood. Grace, the beautiful angel before me, was certainly no angel. She was a vampire, a demon. God had created man in his own image, and now, she had remade me in hers.
"You are a hunter now, the most powerful of all predators. More