• Chapter 2.....


    Artemis was walking to the library. It was free period and she had some books to return and she wanted to catch up on her reading.
    Chase was walking with her. They had been best friends since the third grade when she moved into his neighborhood. Then when she had to go to this boarding school in Japan, he came along with her.
    "Chase, sometimes I feel like I have a stalker," Artemis joked.
    "So you're friends with your stalker?", he said smiling. He opened the door to the library for her and they walked in.
    Artemis returned her books and the two of them walked over to a table in the very back.
    "You're not going to let me read in peace and quiet, are you?", she said to him, raising an eyebrow.
    "Mmm probably not. " He smirked playfuly. She hit his arm with a book.
    "Hey! No need to get violent..., " he said.
    "You know, it wouldn't hurt for you to studdy a little," she said, oppening her book.
    "Pass. You know I don't study."
    "Yes you somehow always get high scores... Are you sure you don't ever cheat?"
    "I don't cheat either. Besides, if I did cheat, it'd probably be off of you." He smirked again. She sighed and rolled her eyes.
    "You know, Christmas is coming up... Anything in particular you want?", he said, skimming through one of her books.
    "Not really. You?"
    "Nah, but you know me. I'm sure you can come up with something..."
    She looked at him. "I could say the same to you" She smiled and took her book from him.


    As Tatiana and Oliver walked into Oliver's father's shoppe, the place was packed full of people. Tatiana saw a man behind the counter surrounded by people.
    "What's going on here?", she asked Oliver.
    "Uh, I'm not sure..." He started over to the counter, maneuvering his way though all the people. Tatiana grabbed a hold of his arm so she souldn't get lonst.
    The man behind the ocunter saw them and said, "Oliver! Thank goodness you're here!" and helped him though the crowd.
    When the man had pulled them out of the crowd, he took them to the store's back room.
    "Dad, why are all those people out there?", Oliver asked.
    "I had a sale and something went wrong, so now all those people want their money back," Oliver's father said. He looked at Tatiana, who had let go of Oliver and was looking around at everything. "Who's this?"
    "Oh, this is Tatiana. The crazy guy who always hangs out at the bar downtown was chasing her so I helped her get away," he explained.
    "Ah, nice to meet you Tatiana." Oli'ver's father help out his hand. "I'm Mr. Puckett; Oliver's father."
    Tatiana shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Puckett..."
    Mr. Puckett pulled Oliver over to a nearby desk. "What did I tell you about this?!"
    "That creep was-", he started, but his father interrupted him.
    "I don't care, Oliver. I told you to stay away from them! NO Exceptions!"
    Oliver sighed. "Why did you ask me to come over?"
    "I'm almost finished and I need you to clean up when everyone leaves. For now just go up to your room. You can take her with you but just don't let her-"
    "I know, I know. You don't have to bring that up," Oliver said. He went back over to Tatiana, who was standing patiently where he had left her, looking around at all the stocks Oliver's father had in his storage room.
    "My dad said he'll need our help in a little bit, when he's taken care of all the customers. For now e said for us to just go up to my room," Oliver told her.
    "Okay...," she said.
    When they got up to his room, it was the complete opposite of what Tatiana had pictured it to look like. It was an average boy's room; clothes weren't everywhere, but there were a few shirts on the floor. She saw sevral "Linkin Park", "Green Day", and " Three Day's Grace" CDs scattered across his desk. He had a bunk bed in the corner with blue and black sheets on it.
    There was a TV on a dresser and an old wardrobe next to a door. He had some text books on the futon part of his bed.
    "Sorry it's so messy," Oliver said picking up some clothes and tossing them into a hamper.
    "It's fine. Heh. My room's no better," Tatiana said.
    After Oliver had cleaned up, he turned on the TV. Tatiana sat down next to him on the futon. Oliver was flipping through the channels.
    Tatiana kept wondering what had gotten into her. She had only met this boy about an hour earlier, and yet she felt like he was someone she could trust her life with. The only people she trusted were, her grandmother, her sister, and herself. That's it. So what was it with this boy that made him so dependable?
    Maybe how friendly he was? No, Tatiana had met plenty friendly people. That question comtinued to echo in her mind. And she had a sense that he was hiding something... Something big...

    "The Lovetts descent all the way back to ancient times. Some considered them to be evil, devious, monsters. Others thought they were just misunderstood.
    "They had few allies and many enimies. Most of all, they were feared and greatly respected among their kind. Everyone knew that if an order was disobeyed, consequences were dealed withouth consent.
    "No one knows if the Lovetts are still around. Most think that the last of them were fended off in the last war...." Artemis was reading articals about her family's history, sincer her father never told her anything. All she knew was that her ancestors were ranked very high in the vampire world, then, aperently, after some war they went into hiding.In past articals she had read, it had said that the Lovetts were monsters, consumed with power. Artemis was hoping to find out why her relatives on her father's side, that live in the vampire world, never used their true last name.
    Tak tak tak tak tak tak tak. Artemis heard the sound of someones shoes tapping on the floor. She quickly put out her little flashlight and closed the book she was reading. She put her hood up and hid behind a bookcase.
    The door opened.
    "Hello? Is there somone in here? Ther should be NO one in here. This is a RESTRICTED area," a deep, squeekish voice said.
    Artemis couldn't tell by the voice if it was a man or a woman. She guessed that it was the president of the Vampire Hunter Association. She still didn't know what gender the president was. She figured a man..
    The president had a lantern, and went over to where Artemis was reading. He noticed a few books out of place. "Who is in here?!" He reached for the sword that was attatched to his coat.
    Artemis dashed for the door. She was running as silently as she could. But the president saw her black cloak and took off after her. He took out his sword and sped up.
    She got to the door. It was locked, somehow. She messed with the handles and turned around to see a sword being thrust at her.