Night and Day
Emergency, Emergency
Dear Diary,
Oh my God. I absolutely cannot believe it! Blake is dead. Just – just gone. I can’t accept it. I can’t accept that one of my closest night-friends, one of my only friends on either side of my life, has been murdered.
Oh, and it was definitely murder. Someone, most likely a paranormal, had burnt most of his skin to the point where it was blistering and peeling away. They had cut off his head – which was also missing – and taken everything that was in his pockets. A paranormal mugging, basically.
I hope that they know what they have done. I hope that they know I will not rest until I find them. They had better lie awake, terrified, knowing that they have awakened my fury. That may sound a tad dramatic, but I swear, when I find out who it is they will die. They will suffer for what they have done.
I can’t believe it. He’s gone.
After I had sat there for a few minutes, absorbing the info, Israel went on to discuss the possible motives for the murder. There were quite a few. Blake was my security specialist, so it could be that the murderer wanted to punish our security for a while and steal something/sneak something in/masquerade as a security specialist themselves and plant bugs. They could have done it because Blake was also the master vampire in this area – that’s a long-sought-after position anywhere. He also looked after the fledgling vamps as part of that position; maybe one of them took him out during an insanity-moment. However, we can’t forget the burns. Vampires don’t like fire at all. They could have killed him because he’s one of my friends, to get to me. Somehow I have nurtured the talent of making enemies wherever I go. People don’t like me for some reason.
We decided, however, that it wasn’t any of these ideas. Fact: he was most likely murdered by a paranormal. Fact: all of the things he was carrying were stolen.
Fact: Blake had been carrying my token, the token that we had taken back from Samuel.
That token signifies my approval for everything that that person does, which was why we had had to take it back from Samuel. With my token, a paranormal could pretty much do anything they wanted and claim it was with my blessing. Valiant HQ is now on red alert, making sure that there is absolutely no chance of a security leak that could make this even worse. Luckily it’s time for me to write up our six-monthly report, which gets sent out to each of the Big Four. I can add a warning about rumors and anyone walking around with one of my tokens who is acting weirdly. Hopefully this will stop them from visiting HQ to kill me.
I often find, when working with the ‘Big Four’, that it is extremely easy for me to slip into the role of a child. I’m only 17 (even though I turn 18 later this year), and the Big Four can be ageless. Hence why I have been reading up on them again before I send out my reports.
Excerpt from Emmaline Valiant’s Intelligentsia Files: The Big Four
Araceli, the vampires’ monarch, is a petite blond who is over 500 years old. She became the vampires’ Imperatrix about twenty years ago, just after the supernatural world war (long story). Usually it takes a vamp centuries to build up the fear, respect and power she commands. Araceli is not your usual vampire. With shoulder-length blond hair in tight ringlets, wide, ice-blue eyes and a doll-like body, she doesn’t seem that threatening when you first meet her. But Araceli can change moods in the blink of an eye, going from the laughing child to a terrifying queen in a single moment. Out of all of them, she scares me the most. Araceli lives somewhere in Europe; her home travels with the vampires’ constant politicking and trouble-making. The last time I saw here face-to-face was at my induction a year ago.
Richard Duke, the only monarch to have a last name. He’s the governor of the paranormals – those special humans who have the ability to control one of the elements, or to tell when someone’s lying, or to have abilities like extra speed or strength. Richard is 37 years old, though he doesn’t look like he’s out of his twenties. Compared to the others he is the epitome of average: average height and build, average dark brown eyes. His hair is straw-colored and very short. Out of the Big Four, Richard is the one I have the most contact with (or at least I have contact with his lackeys), because the paranormals are largely based in Australia like the Valiants. He’s a nice guy, though a little distant.
Leonard is the shapeshifters’ king. Like Richard he has a job with more variety, because he rules all of the different shapeshifting groups and not just the biggest group of the werecats. He himself is a werebear. Werebears are the most dangerous kind of shapeshifter, as they are the strongest and have the most control over their shifting. They also make up the shapeshifters’ royal family. Shapeshifters can pass at human with various degrees of success. Often the weaker shifters will expose themselves when their emotions override their control; they shift, wreak havoc, shift back and lose consciousness. All shifters are incredibly weak when they shift back to human form. One of Leonard’s main jobs is to contain security leaks. Everyone listens to Leonard, mostly because he is a great leader, but partially because of his appearance. He is tall, muscled and very fit, with deep brown hair and dark blue eyes, and the closest in age to me (22). The shapeshifters live in North and South America.
Out of all of the monarchs, Eli (the lord of the fae) is the one I like the most. Tall, thin and possessing cat-like grace, Eli has pale green eyes that are ever steady and shaggy black hair. He was also the one who supported my predecessor Katherine in her choice of me the most. He taught me in diplomacy, politics and when to be ruthless. Unfortunately, Eli holds court with his faeries in Asia, too far away for me to visit often. Unlike much mythology where there are two fae courts (light and dark, seelie and unseelie), Eli controls all fae with an equal court. It works, though tempers are often high. I have no clue how old he is.
End Excerpt
As the youngest, the most inexperienced, the most human and the one with the job of the mediator, I have to be merciless. I can’t afford to let my conscience interfere and stop me from punishing those who break the rules, from grandstanding when it is needed and from letting people die when they have to. In my old world when I was a normal girl, this would make me far from an innocent child. But in the world I live in now, it’s simply normal.
Oh my God. I absolutely cannot believe it! Blake is dead. Just – just gone. I can’t accept it. I can’t accept that one of my closest night-friends, one of my only friends on either side of my life, has been murdered.
Oh, and it was definitely murder. Someone, most likely a paranormal, had burnt most of his skin to the point where it was blistering and peeling away. They had cut off his head – which was also missing – and taken everything that was in his pockets. A paranormal mugging, basically.
I hope that they know what they have done. I hope that they know I will not rest until I find them. They had better lie awake, terrified, knowing that they have awakened my fury. That may sound a tad dramatic, but I swear, when I find out who it is they will die. They will suffer for what they have done.
I can’t believe it. He’s gone.
After I had sat there for a few minutes, absorbing the info, Israel went on to discuss the possible motives for the murder. There were quite a few. Blake was my security specialist, so it could be that the murderer wanted to punish our security for a while and steal something/sneak something in/masquerade as a security specialist themselves and plant bugs. They could have done it because Blake was also the master vampire in this area – that’s a long-sought-after position anywhere. He also looked after the fledgling vamps as part of that position; maybe one of them took him out during an insanity-moment. However, we can’t forget the burns. Vampires don’t like fire at all. They could have killed him because he’s one of my friends, to get to me. Somehow I have nurtured the talent of making enemies wherever I go. People don’t like me for some reason.
We decided, however, that it wasn’t any of these ideas. Fact: he was most likely murdered by a paranormal. Fact: all of the things he was carrying were stolen.
Fact: Blake had been carrying my token, the token that we had taken back from Samuel.
That token signifies my approval for everything that that person does, which was why we had had to take it back from Samuel. With my token, a paranormal could pretty much do anything they wanted and claim it was with my blessing. Valiant HQ is now on red alert, making sure that there is absolutely no chance of a security leak that could make this even worse. Luckily it’s time for me to write up our six-monthly report, which gets sent out to each of the Big Four. I can add a warning about rumors and anyone walking around with one of my tokens who is acting weirdly. Hopefully this will stop them from visiting HQ to kill me.
I often find, when working with the ‘Big Four’, that it is extremely easy for me to slip into the role of a child. I’m only 17 (even though I turn 18 later this year), and the Big Four can be ageless. Hence why I have been reading up on them again before I send out my reports.
Excerpt from Emmaline Valiant’s Intelligentsia Files: The Big Four
Araceli, the vampires’ monarch, is a petite blond who is over 500 years old. She became the vampires’ Imperatrix about twenty years ago, just after the supernatural world war (long story). Usually it takes a vamp centuries to build up the fear, respect and power she commands. Araceli is not your usual vampire. With shoulder-length blond hair in tight ringlets, wide, ice-blue eyes and a doll-like body, she doesn’t seem that threatening when you first meet her. But Araceli can change moods in the blink of an eye, going from the laughing child to a terrifying queen in a single moment. Out of all of them, she scares me the most. Araceli lives somewhere in Europe; her home travels with the vampires’ constant politicking and trouble-making. The last time I saw here face-to-face was at my induction a year ago.
Richard Duke, the only monarch to have a last name. He’s the governor of the paranormals – those special humans who have the ability to control one of the elements, or to tell when someone’s lying, or to have abilities like extra speed or strength. Richard is 37 years old, though he doesn’t look like he’s out of his twenties. Compared to the others he is the epitome of average: average height and build, average dark brown eyes. His hair is straw-colored and very short. Out of the Big Four, Richard is the one I have the most contact with (or at least I have contact with his lackeys), because the paranormals are largely based in Australia like the Valiants. He’s a nice guy, though a little distant.
Leonard is the shapeshifters’ king. Like Richard he has a job with more variety, because he rules all of the different shapeshifting groups and not just the biggest group of the werecats. He himself is a werebear. Werebears are the most dangerous kind of shapeshifter, as they are the strongest and have the most control over their shifting. They also make up the shapeshifters’ royal family. Shapeshifters can pass at human with various degrees of success. Often the weaker shifters will expose themselves when their emotions override their control; they shift, wreak havoc, shift back and lose consciousness. All shifters are incredibly weak when they shift back to human form. One of Leonard’s main jobs is to contain security leaks. Everyone listens to Leonard, mostly because he is a great leader, but partially because of his appearance. He is tall, muscled and very fit, with deep brown hair and dark blue eyes, and the closest in age to me (22). The shapeshifters live in North and South America.
Out of all of the monarchs, Eli (the lord of the fae) is the one I like the most. Tall, thin and possessing cat-like grace, Eli has pale green eyes that are ever steady and shaggy black hair. He was also the one who supported my predecessor Katherine in her choice of me the most. He taught me in diplomacy, politics and when to be ruthless. Unfortunately, Eli holds court with his faeries in Asia, too far away for me to visit often. Unlike much mythology where there are two fae courts (light and dark, seelie and unseelie), Eli controls all fae with an equal court. It works, though tempers are often high. I have no clue how old he is.
End Excerpt
As the youngest, the most inexperienced, the most human and the one with the job of the mediator, I have to be merciless. I can’t afford to let my conscience interfere and stop me from punishing those who break the rules, from grandstanding when it is needed and from letting people die when they have to. In my old world when I was a normal girl, this would make me far from an innocent child. But in the world I live in now, it’s simply normal.