Centuries ago, dragons and humans comingled, some dragons even willingly bonding themselves to humans and allowing themselves to be ridden. Humans began to take advantage of this, using dragons as warfare until so many dragons had died, they decided enough was enough and simply disappeared. Present-day time, dragons have been all but forgot except for those rider families who continue to pass on the stories. Even so, the newer generations often just believe them to be fantastical stories. Not all the dragons have disappeared as thought, however. Some of them learned how to adapt, to take human form and blend in the world. Still, they are dragons and have the instincts and urges to act like so. Flying is a bit difficult in today's observant world.

Vampires don't exist in this world, but a mirror world that overlaps on the Earth. Ghosts? Don't exist. They're just the other world breaking through the barrier. Human minds can be accessed between worlds when they are asleep, and my vampire has been chatting it up with a young woman, falling in love with her. (I know, I said no instant love. It isn't that easy.) Those who leave their world to enter into the human one can never return, a terrifying prospect for most, with humans so against anything new or stronger than them. Still, he cannot stay away from her, and decides to come to her world. After he finds her, however, she things he's crazy, despite the fact that she has been dreaming of him for months. Can he really bridge the gap between their worlds, or has he lost all he has ever known for nothing?

Despite his impertinence the Elder did not stand and squish him like a bug. Faine couldn’t pick out any emotions from the still face so he merely stood there, waiting for another question or the verdict. The council members had turned their heads towards the Elder and Faine decided that dragons must be able to speak to specific beings when they wished to. Whatever they were saying, the marsupial dragon didn’t seem too pleased. That had to be a good sign, right?

The urge to sneeze was even beginning to fade and Faine actually relaxed a touch, a soft sigh escaping him. Seconds after he released his control the urge was suddenly back and fierce, giving him no time to fight it. His head jerked back as he sucked in a breath full of air against his own will, sneezing two small columns of flame a second later.

Freezing, eyes wide, he watched the grass in front of the Elder’s paw smolder as the musky scent of fire drifted up lazily into the air. Everything was completely silent, even the birds in the trees freezing under the tension in the air. Slowly, deliberately, the Elder pushed himself back up to his feet, his blind eyes glaring down at Faine as he reached out a paw and crushed the smoldering grass underfoot. Oh gods, he was so dead. The Elder was going to crush out his life just like he had the flames. Just like that, Faine pancake. Poor Lisa, he felt bad for making her see it.

Standing, I excused myself and moved towards the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and quickly locking it before leaning up against the cool wood, closing my eyes as I tried to keep myself calm. I wasn’t going to let her just kill me. That’s what it took, after all. You had to die to be reborn. I jumped when the doorknob rattled, caught the whisper of her quiet sigh. I heard her murmur “The hard way it is.” The next thing I hear is the sound of splintering wood and feel air movement when there shouldn’t be, making me scream and leap across the room. Standing in the shower, I thought desperately. What did I have in here to protect myself? Cleaners? A plunger? A toothbrush? What did one use to fight off a vampire in a bathroom?

It only took her a minute to demolish my door, and when the sounds stopped I merely stood there, holding my breath, listening with all my might. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to be reborn. I just wanted to live my life out as Evelyn the human, blind and a pain in the ass. Not Evelyn the vampire, lost and confused.

Nothing. I couldn’t hear her moving, and she hadn’t grabbed me yet. Had she changed her mind? Hesitating for a moment, I clicked my tongue to the roof of my mouth, jerking back despite the fact I had nothing but wall behind me. She was right in front of me! When those delicate little hands locked around my wrists with shocking strength I screamed again, jerking my head forward and making contact, hearing her hiss in pain as my ears rang from the impact, briefly stunning me. It only took a moment or two to recover however, and I lashed out with everything I had; biting, kicking, scratching, anything I could do to inflict pain. The taste of blood on my tongue only encouraged my struggles until she slapped me, the power behind the simple blow nearly knocking me out.

Colors and lights danced across my eyelids as I felt her breath against my neck, the scent of old blood caressing my face. No mint. I flinched when fangs sank into my neck, whimpering at the pain but still too dazed to do anything about it. Teeth were replaced by a strong suction as her mouth worked on my skin, pulling my blood straight out of my veins. I had heard that the conversion from human to vampire was supposed to be something sexy, erotic. All I could think of was the pain, the fact this woman was killing me.