Lilith Nightshade's Arc

Chapter 1 of 4

Lilith Nightshade had three hours until the sun killed her, and no door to hide behind. She crouched in a dead garden, her black hair tangled with frost. For two centuries she had hunted one thing above blood: a mortal whose soul matched hers, someone she could sire into an eternal companion. Last night she had finally crossed the mountains into this valley to search. She had not planned to lose her old crypt to a landslide the same night. Now the eastern sky showed its first gray threat, and her skin remembered fire. She ran. Thorny branches tore her sleeve. A willow blocked her path, its black and blue limbs sweeping the ground like curtains. She could hide under it, but leaves would not stop the sun. She needed walls. Stone. A roof. Something snarled near her boot. A rabbit the size of her fist bared tiny fangs, red eyes burning. Its gray fur bristled like a wolf's. The little beast lunged and bit her ankle, drawing a dark bead of blood. Lilith hissed, more surprised than hurt. The creature did not flee. It backed away, teeth still showing, then turned and bounded through the willow's branches. It wanted her to follow. Lilith had no better plan, so she chased it. The rabbit led her up a slope through the thinning dark. At the top, iron gates rose from the mist, spiked and black. Behind them stood a tall gothic manor, its walls draped in creeping vines, its windows glowing faint blue. Shutters. Deep cellars. Thick stone. Everything she needed to survive the morning. The rabbit squeezed between the gate bars and vanished into the shadows. Lilith pushed the gate. It groaned open. No one stopped her. The grounds felt empty, but not abandoned. Near the front steps sat a swinging chair, black and blue, its canopy shaped like spread bat wings. Someone had placed it there to enjoy quiet nights. Someone lived here. The sky brightened. Lilith had no time to be careful. She climbed the steps and pushed the heavy door. It opened. Then a voice stopped her cold. "You smell of fresh blood and old death. How interesting." Lilith turned. A tall woman stood among the vines, skinny and pale, with white hair falling past dark wings. A spiked tail curled behind her black heels. Her eyes were black with no white at all. She had been watching the whole time. "The sun is coming," the fae said. She tilted her head, amused. "You may enter. But guests here pay their debts." Lilith felt the first warmth touch her neck. She had no choice. She stepped inside, and the door shut behind her. She had her lair. She had also just made a bargain with something older and stranger than herself, and she did not yet know the price.