“Are you nervous?” Ellie said to Jack. “I thought I would be more nervous.” She looked over at her vampire lover and squeezed his hand. The blue topaz room around them shimmered in expectation. On the wall in front of them the portal would open very shortly, connecting Snowstone and Belmont together for the first time in decades.

“I guess I’m not that nervous,” he said with a reassuring smile. “I imagine it’s worse for you… meeting your sister for the first time.”

“I just hope everything looks okay,” she said anxiously. The castle was in a much better state than it was when they found it all those months ago, but they were about to meet Belmonts. They were as high up as it got in the vampire world.

The wall in front of them flickered with light and Ellie jumped on her heels. “It’s happening!”

Light pulsed from the doorway for a few seconds and then the image of another blue room appeared in the open wall. There Kara stood with Eric, Claire and several other vampires. “I told you it would work!” the old woman bawled, shoving her way through the door to acknowledge Ellie and Jack with a sour look. “There. I fixed your portal. Thank me later. Let’s get this party started. Where is the food? I need food!”

Jack and Ellie both looked at each other in amusement as Kara pushed her way out of the portal room and into the castle. Looking back to the portal, they saw Claire and Eric enter.

“Ignore the crazy old broad,” Eric said with a warm smile. “She’s been in a bad mood ever since she arrived at Castle Belmont.”

Ellie locked eyes with Claire instantly. The sister that had been lost to her for a lifetime. They both came together at once and embraced. Tears were shed, laughs were had, latent disbelief and shock was felt by all. Eric and Jack’s reunion certainly seemed less emotional, coming together briefly for one of those stereotypical man hugs. They patted each other’s backs and Claire and Ellie shared a silent look of amusement, rolling their eyes in unison as they did so.

After the couple, more vampires entered through the portal. It was hard to remember their names, but Ellie tried her hardest. There was Ansel, a handsome vampire with sharp red eyes and ink black hair. He was accompanied by a tall and rakish blonde named Kat. Then entered Edmund, a huge silhouette of a man that looked as if he’d just finished chopping trees. He was accompanied by Sophia, Eric’s younger vampire sister, who was petite and full of life.

“And I hope this doesn’t disturb your party,” Eric said as he disappeared back through the portal room briefly. He emerged a moment later, pushing three babies in a stroller. “Meet Vrako, Isla, and Isaac.”

“They’re adorable!” Ellie shouted, immediately melting at the sight of the triplets. She turned to Claire. “Can I—”

“Go right ahead!” Claire laughed. “You’re their aunt after all!”

Ellie dropped to her knees and pulled the baby girl, Isla, up and into her arms. The tiny girl had a stunning crop of jet-black hair, and white skin like a winter meadow. She looked up at Ellie and smiled. “She’s beautiful,” Ellie said with much adoration, love threatening to burst from her chest. “They all are.”

Jack also dropped to his knee and brushed his finger gently down the face of the baby boy with bright red eyes. “It is most amazing brother. I feel honored to finally meet my beautiful niece and nephews.”

“Come on already!” a voice shouted from the hall outside. Everyone gathered in the small topaz room turned at the sound of the voice and smirked.

“I think we better hurry on through before Kara goes crazy,” Ellie said with a laugh. “Follow me everyone, I’ll show you to the food and drink.”

* * *

It was a great night for friendships old and new. Love, laughter and high spirits were in the air. The party stretched on into the night. The sounds of their voices and laughter filling the old hallways with a warmth that had long been forgotten. When everyone had settled down later and had their fill, Jack and Ellie brought everyone’s attention to the focus of their evening. Jack led the announcement.

“I was a different vampire the last time a lot of you saw me. For some of you… this is the first time we have met. If that’s the case, then you will never meet Wraith Belmont. The old vampire that… earned his fair share of enemies.” They all laughed. “To say I’m a new man would be an understatement, and it’s all thanks to Ellie here. I might never escape the Shadow Curse that haunts me, but with her, I feel as if I can finally bring that darkness under control.”

A light platter of applause followed but Jack continued. “I wasn’t sure Ellie believed in prophecies back when this all started.” He looked over at Ellie who smiled back with red cheeks. “But it brought us together, and I’ve never been happier. I think it’s natural to be suspicious of prophecies. Most vampires can never reproduce, breeders are extremely rare. You don’t believe it will ever happen to you because the chances are that it won’t.”

He gave a long pause and then said: “But then it did.”

They both smiled at the room, watching the confused reactions turning to slow shock. It was Sophia, his youngest sister that was the first to stand up. “Do you mean to tell me she’s pregnant?”

Jack looked over at Ellie, held her hand and nodded. “That’s right,” Ellie said with a proud smile. “Jack and I are having a baby.”

“Get out of here!” Sophia shouted in triumph. “More vampire babies! Yes!” The tiny vampire girl bounced across the room, punching the air and shouting her joy for all to hear. Ellie couldn’t help but laugh, everyone came forward to congratulate them. More tears were shed, more laughs were had, everything was perfect. Ellie couldn’t have asked for a better night. She leaned in and kissed Jack on the cheek, loving him more with each passing second. He brushed his hand over her stomach lightly, his red eyes sparkling into hers. Perfection.

* * *

It was only later, when the fire of the party had simmered down to dying embers, that Ellie took Claire into the room which held the portrait of their parents. They spent a long time talking about pregnancy things before their attention came back to that portrait on the wall.

“I can’t believe it,” she said, looking up at the picture in amazement. “That’s them. That’s really them.” Claire looked over at Ellie. “Do you remember much about them?”

“Not really,” Ellie said while shaking her head. “Memories have come back to me while living here, but it’s hard. Do you remember anything?”

Claire shook her head. “For me there is nothing. The only person I recognize in that portrait is Atticus, Eric and Jack’s father. He is back at Belmont Castle on other business.”

Ellie’s heart stopped. “Atticus?” The silver-haired vampire? “He was the one that saved us.”

“Saved us?”

Ellie nodded and shared with Claire what she knew of that day. How their mother had hid them. How one of the invading vampires killed her and was about to kill them before Atticus stepped in, saving her and her sisters.

“So you remember the other daughter?” Claire gasped. “The third sister? What was she like!?”

Ellie tried her hardest to give Claire the full picture. She had red hair. Ellie had gone to live with her at a vampire settlement. They were separated after that though, when the Order took Ellie.

“I wonder why Atticus wiped our minds,” Claire said in wonder, staring up at the portrait above them.

“He had his reasons,” a voice said behind them. They both turned and saw Kara standing at the other end of the empty room. The old woman walked across the floor to them and looked up at the portrait. “Your family was attacked all those years ago because they were powerful. The couple in that portrait are Charles and Lilah Lightchild. They were your parents. The Lightchild family were a great ally to the Belmont family, and perhaps all vampire kind. They wanted to help unite humans and vampires as one. They believed both kinds could live together.”

“What happened?” Claire asked. “Why did vampires attack our family?”

“Because they feared change. Lilah Lightchild was a great scientific mind. Her team was on the verge of developing synthetic blood. The aim was to end vampire’s reluctance on human death. Before that research could be brought into fruition Snowstone was discovered and ransacked. Your parents were killed in the attack, but you and your sisters were saved, with the help of Atticus and his wife.

“The enemies of your parents were determined to destroy your lineage, so your minds were blanked, and you were separated for your own safety. Claire was sent to live amongst mortals, Ellie and the other sister were sent to live with another vampire family.”

“What was her name?” Ellie asked, desperately trying to remember. “The other sister!”

“I do not know child,” Kara said. “There is a chance Atticus might, but I doubt it. He was involved in the rescue, but it was his wife, Victoria, who was mainly involved in saving you. She was the only one who knew your locations. She was the one that looked over you.”

“Why did people go to all this effort for us?” Ellie asked.

“It is likely that Victoria knew things I did not. She was well versed with the ways of the prophecy. I suspect she knew that you and your sisters were destined to be the lost daughters. She went to great lengths to keep you hidden, but somehow it got out that she was the one guarding the location of the lost Lightchild daughters. Victoria died several months later under mysterious circumstances...”

“That’s when Jack became shadow cursed!” Ellie said in recognition.

Kara nodded. “That is right. With her death all hope of finding the lost Lightchild daughters disappeared however. She was the only person to know your real locations. You would be lost forever were it not for Eric finding Claire almost two decades later, and now here we are with you. It seems the prophecy is destined to happen, no matter how hard people try to stop it.”

They all looked up at the portrait together.

“That still leaves the third daughter though,” Ellie said with some sadness. She looked over and saw that same sadness reflected in her sister Claire’s eyes. “Where is she?”

“We can only hope she is somewhere safe,” Kara said. “The prophecy will do its best to protect her. Fate will bring her to us one way or another. I just hope she’s found before our enemies can raise their strength any further. The High Vistor is desperate to end this all. With one daughter left I can only assume he will act without limits now.”

Claire and Ellie both stared up at the portrait of their family, silently hoping that their sister was okay. A red-haired girl lost among a world of strangers, carrying a magic inside of her that could save thousands. What would it take to find her?

* * *

Jessica tiptoed across the dark room, taking much care not to wake Susan. She had stashed all of her belongings in her bag this morning before they went down to the lab to work, knowing full well that she would leave the Castle Belmont tonight. She made her way for the door, catching a cabinet with her toe as she did.

“Who’s there?!” Susan said, sitting up in the darkness and staring over in Jess’s direction.

“Relax Susan,” Jess said back in a whisper. “It’s just me.”

“Jess?”

Susan lit the candle beside her and Jess had to sigh to herself, hating how clumsy she was. Susan sat up in bed. “What are you doing? Are you going somewhere?”

Jess hadn’t wanted it to be like this. She wanted to slip away undetected. Susan was a good friend, and she felt bad enough leaving like this as it was. “Just go back to sleep Susan. Pretend you never saw me.”

“…I can do that. But first I want you to be honest with me.”

Jess paused, brushing a strand of long red hair behind her ear. “What do you mean?”

“Come on Jess,” Susan said, her voice deathly low. “I know your secret. You’re the remaining daughter of the prophecy.”

Jess’s heart stopped. “How could you—how did you know?” She asked, but it didn’t take much to figure out. Rumors had sprung up in the castle recently that the third lost daughter had red hair. Eric Belmont denied it of course, but everyone knew it was most likely true. There had been a lot of jokes at Jess’s expense in the lab after that.

“I guess I put two and two together the other day when I remembered the scar on your back. It hides your mark, doesn’t it? And then these rumors cropped up about her having red hair. Peter and Clark joked in the lab of course… but I knew the truth.”

Jess nodded. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know yet,” she said. “I just want to get out of here. I need to go before someone finds me.”

“Why run?” Susan asked. “I’d love to be part of something like this. You’re special Jess. You’re different from everyone else.”

The thin girl shook her head timidly. “No Susan, you don’t understand. If I get caught up in this, then our research is over. I won’t be a scientist anymore, I’ll just be some… womb on legs.”

“If you leave our team then our research is over anyway. Everyone knows you’re the only one carrying us.”

Jess shook her head. Part of that might be true, but their equipment here at Belmont Castle was limited. Her team was close to finding synthetic blood, but they’d never do it here. “You know as well as I that the research has hit a dead end here.”

Susan stared at her momentarily, acknowledgment sparked in her eyes. “You’re going to go back to York castle.”

Damn it. It was like her friend was a mind reader. “Please Susan,” Jess pleaded. “You can’t tell anyone.”

She considered it for a long moment before finally nodding her head. “Fine. But only because I’d do the same thing in your situation.”

“You would?”

“Yes.” Susan climbed out of the bed and walked over to Jess. “Our research is more important than anyone realizes. Without us… it’ll never happen. If you get swept up in this prophecy now, we might never find an answer. I’ll cover for you, but you have to promise me you’ll make it back alive.”

“I’ll try my best,” Jess said with some angst. “You’ll really cover for me?”

Her friend nodded. “I’ll say you’re sick. Might give you a day’s head start. Then I’ll tell them you ran away with another vampire in the castle. I’ll tell them you went South. Throw them off the scent for a few more weeks.”

Jess could have burst with gratitude. She didn’t hug, she’d never been a physical person. She offered her hand and Susan took it. “Be safe Jess. It’s dangerous out there.”

Jess released her friend’s hand and stepped back. “I know. I’ll be fine. I promise.” She slipped from the room and stalked down the quiet hallway outside, following her carefully constructed escape route. Escaping the Castle would be the hard part, but once she was out into the forest she was on the home straight.

She’d learned of her route by overhearing a blood servant earlier in the week. The basement under the castle supposedly led to open caves on the east side of the mountains.

“Enter using the door on the east side of the ground floor. There’s a corridor down there with a gold line on the floor. Follow it, and it will take you all the way to the forest.”

It was half an hour in all, but the route was perfect, and Jess hadn’t seen another person the entire way. The long basement corridor slowly turned from black brick to rough cave walls. She followed a tunnel up a slight incline and found herself standing in an open cave mouth, looking over the forest below. She stepped out into the cold night air, which was illuminated by the bright moon overhead. Castle York was a four day walk from here. If she travelled mostly at day she could avoid vampires and shifters.

There were bad people about, but what are the chances Jess would bump into them? She climbed down the steep hill and walked into the trees, disappearing into the vast forest.

* * *

The Vistor’s kill list was growing longer every day. His entire life had been one long disappointment, caused by the asinine abilities of mortal men. The latest name on that list was Kaleb. His failed experiment.

“Your awful experiment failed it seems,” Glamora had said. Yes. It seemed it had.

The Vistor couldn’t quite understand it. Glamora’s latest glimpse of his creation revealed his soldier had failed to carry out his directives. He had Ellie Thorn within his grasp and did nothing. The young witch found it very amusing. The Vistor locked her door and walked away, caring little of what she thought.

It had been ten long years at the Red Keep. Ten years since he last set forth on mortal soil. A trip back to the other side felt long overdue. Vangzali had failed. Valdis had failed. Even Kaleb had failed him.

What was that old saying? If you want something doing, you better do it yourself? Two daughters of the prophecy had been found, and only one remained. If the Vistor didn’t kill her, he knew his chances of ending the prophecy were over. It made sense to him to start with Draco, his last living descendent. Not only was Draco involved in the prophecy somehow, he was the only vampire left that could truly best the Vistor. Glamora’s last vision placed Ansel Draco at Castle Belmont.

He didn’t know the exact location of Belmont Castle, but he had a general idea. The closest teleportation point on the Circle network was a few days walk from there. It was little bother to him. It had been a long time since the Vistor was last in nature, he didn’t mind a brief exploration on the long way.

The portal room was long, cold and empty. He approached the wall and signaled at the attending guard to open the doorway. The Keep would be left in the hands of his Generals, who were rallying every vampire on in the Keep for war. In a few days the long portal room would be jammed pack with thousands of Circle Vampires as they made their journeys to Belmont valley. None knew the Vistor would already be there. His mission was secret, and he required no help.

Red miasma pulsed across the wall and the Vistor stepped through, travelling between the ether that connected the two realities. A moment later he had landed feet first within a non-descript spot in the broad valley forest. For a moment he stood there, simply tasting the night air. He was just under a hundred miles east of Belmont Castle.

Orientating himself, he found west and set off. The first several hours he was completely on his own, until he crossed paths with a red-haired girl travelling in the opposite direction. They both paused at a far distance upon seeing each other. He resumed walking and the girl did too with some trepidation. It wasn’t until they were closer that he saw the wariness in her eyes. She was delicate. Beautiful. Fair, with brilliant red hair. He stopped before her.

“You know I am a vampire?” he asked.

The girl nodded back, placing a hand to a stake that was on her waist. “I do.” There was a steeliness in her voice that he found admirable. He sensed little fear, but it was obvious she didn’t trust him.

“Don’t worry. I’m not feeding tonight. I’m looking for Castle Belmont. Is this the right direction?”

She studied him, before turning back and pointing at the mountains in the distance. “That’s right. Head for those mountains. You’ll see the castle when you get closer.”

A cold smiled tugged at his lips and he carried on walking. “Thank you very much…”

“Jessica,” she said, turning to watch him as he left.

He carried on into the night, with his eyes fixed on those distant mountains, blissfully unaware that the last lost daughter of the prophecy had been within mere inches of his grasp. The world turned. The prophecy lived.

The vampires still had a fighting chance.