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Jacquelyn underneath Andrew, and Magdalena under her,
followed by another name that she couldn't read. Also, under
Andrew's name, was Anna. It stopped there. Magdalena had
one under her name. There were dates next to the entries.
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This was the lineage of all the vampires. There must have
been hundreds of pages filled with names and dates.
"I'm working on the rest of it. When vampires are made, I
know their names and who made them. I have the knowledge
instinctually. I'm linked to all of them. The web which binds
us together grows brighter and stronger every day. More of
us are coming back and their stars are adding to the points.
It's remarkable. The first among us wanted there to be a
record of her children in case something happened. She wrote
prophecies of events within the race. All the Record Keepers
through the ages have had the ability. I started having visions
of the killer even before I knew it was Simon, but I didn't put
them together until years later.
"About fifty years ago, I started having dreams. I saw my
old friends. I believe in reincarnation. I saw it with Trevor
even back before any of you realized he was dead in the past.
He became a vampire again so I knew we could come back
even if our true natures were buried under lifetimes of
humanity. That side of us has to be reawakened. Then I
started having dreams about all of us sitting in a room like
this, but you had different faces. I dismissed them for
longings of the past.
"Over the years I saw and felt things were changing in the
human world. The old ways were re-emerging. Witches
weren't being prosecuted and the stirrings of magick were re-
appearing. This century is an odd one. I thought, maybe,
humanity would kill itself with all its inventions and the things
they're doing to the earth. I've learned to live among mortals
and have taken myself out of the community, remaining
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involved through email and the computer, which is a strange
beast in its own right. At first vampirelings sought me out,
hearing or feeling they needed to speak with me. Some
remembered their heritage and the community among us.
Then one came to me. He was no more than three years into
the night, but when he introduced himself, he said his name
was Valan. That isn't the most common of names. He started
talking about old times, about the castle. These were things
he shouldn't have known, but I listened, and was skeptical at
first. Then I remembered years ago I'd seen that we'd all be
together again." Crimson paused and looked at Amara, who
was huddled in Andrew's arms.
"As the Internet progressed and I learned how to use it,
there were talks among the humans about psychic vampires.
Some theories were nonsense, about how vampires came
about by genetic mutation. I noticed there was a theory
floating around that maybe some were vampires because
they had been reincarnated. These were humans coming up
with these ideas. Those who had died were awakening. So I
began to post and hoped there would be others. But no one
responded, until I got this strange message from Trevor. That
was two years ago. It took him this long to get his ass here
so we could make absolutely sure. Trevor told me about the
group he grew up with. He mentioned you, Amara. I only
hoped that it was you. Once I saw him, the past came alive
again. I hoped that all of us would return. Andrew was the
next. I had missed you and wanted to share the night with
you again. And that's it." Crimson started running her fingers
over the velvet of the chair, picking off some lint.
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Crimson had known all along that vampires were coming
back and she hadn't done anything about it. "Let me get this
straight. You knew we were all being reincarnated. Why not
leave better bread crumbs? I've been on the sites, too, and
most are loads of shit. I didn't even think Trevor really
believed in all of this. We talked about the past in high school,
but he always questioned it. Tre, when did you start believing
in all of it?"
Trevor laughed a rich baritone. "I was at this Goth club
and I was making out with this chick and she bit me. I
thought she had caps, but there was something in her eyes
that made me wonder. Something seemed really familiar. We
hit it off and it wasn't about getting her into bed. It was
something else. She wiped the blood from her lips and then
looked at me strangely because she had gotten a glimpse of
my memories. She asked me if I knew anyone named
Crimson. I told her no, but I remembered someone by the
name and we used to live in a castle in England. She then
asked me if I knew the name Deanna. I hadn't thought about
the past in a long time. I have enough trouble trying to
reconcile with the now, but the name was familiar. She said
she was a vampire, a real vampire. She became one on a
fluke hit and run, but when she turned, all of her memories
came back. I had turned her in the past and she considered
me her true maker even though she had the blood of another
running through her veins. She offered to bring back
everything locked behind the walls of my mind. It was a lot to
swallow at first, but we got together more and fooled around,
but I wasn't ready then so she said she would keep in touch.
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"I thought about what we used to talk about in high school
and realized we were still connected. I assumed I could keep
you out of my mind even then, Mara, but you always found a
way inside." He paused and smiled at her. "Yeah, I knew you
were snooping the other night. I wasn't expecting it. I didn't
realize Lydia had called you. I was planning on it, but I
wanted to talk to Andrew first. You were so unhappy back
then. I wasn't sure it would be the best thing for you to be
turned again. But you had to know."
She reached over and punched him hard in the upper arm.
It only rocked him to the side. "Damn you, Tre! Why did you
think I wouldn't be able to accept it all? Do you know how
much I hate being this way? I was the one who took on the
heritage of what I was, more than you. I've lived with it since
I was twelve, pushing off the hunger when you ignored it and
threw it behind your walls because you could. You should
have told all of us once you realized. Lydia would still be
alive. I wouldn't feel like some old hag who's going crazy.
You're such a pain in my ass."
"Yeah, but you love me anyway," he chuckled.
"Whatever."
"So, what's with the hunter? If Simon isn't the one killing
everyone again, then who is?"
Crimson sighed. "I have a feeling that Kathryn may have
found herself another lackey. I was flipping through my latest
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