Chapter Two
One Year Later
“Why do we have to go see him?” Raven asked, not caring if she sounded like a petulant child. She didn’t want to see her human father. He was nothing more than a reminder of why she was different from the other wood nymphs. She hadn’t seen him in a decade, not since she was seven years old. It wasn’t that Raven didn’t like her father; he simply wasn’t part of the world she lived in, by his own choice.
While wood nymphs could mate with human males, those males had to be brought into their world. They had to be accepted by the woods and merge with a spirit of nature such as an animal or tree. Once they did, they were no longer considered human. Raven’s father hadn’t been willing to leave his human life behind. Raven couldn’t help but resent him for his choice. Her mother always assured her he would join them one day, but that didn’t make it any easier. His absence made her an outcast among the other nymphs. Without her mother, she would have no one.
She’d never understood how her father could stay away from her mother. In Raven’s opinion, her mother was the most beautiful woman in the world, with long hair so pale it appeared white in the sunlight, mossy green eyes, and delicate features. When she sang, animals and nymphs were drawn to her.
Sadly, Raven hadn’t inherited much from her mother. Too much had come from her father, which reminded the other young nymphs of how different she was. Her hair and eyes were brown. Her eyes did swirl with gold and green when she was close to her spirit tree or animal.
“Stop pouting, Raven,” her mother said in her calm, soothing voice. “He’s your father, and he loves you.”
Raven snorted. “He doesn’t even know me. If he loved me, he wouldn’t have told us not to visit for so long.” At one time, they’d come out of the woods to visit him every few months. Although, sometimes he went longer between visits because of his position in the military. There were times when he hadn’t been able to get word to them he wouldn’t be there. That was back in the days when she’d still been excited to see him, and it had hurt to know his human life was more important than seeing her.
When she’d been five, he’d told them to stay in the woods for two years. No explanation had been given, and he’d barely stopped to give them both kisses on the cheek. When they’d come out after two years, he’d rushed them back into the woods for another ten years. Obviously, he didn’t want to see her. She could only assume he had a new family—a human family—but her mother refused to believe it.
“I know this is hard,” her mother began. “Have you thought about what I said?”
Raven nodded. “I don’t want to live with humans.” In the last few months, Raven’s mother had been trying to talk her into an extended visit with her father. He’d suggested it as he’d rushed them away the last time.
“Not forever,” her mother assured her. “It would just be a visit. You are part human. Maybe you should consider it a blessing you can be part of both worlds.”
Raven didn’t feel human, and she didn’t want to be a part of the human world. Humans were destructive and careless. The only reason they hadn’t destroyed the homes of the wood nymphs was they couldn’t see the wooded areas that overlaid their world. Humans could walk across a piece of wood nymph land that was hundreds of miles, but it would only seem like a few feet to them. Humans were blind to most things. The other wood nymphs made sure to tell her how bad humans were all the time, never letting her forget she wasn’t really one of them.
“I could never live with humans. Please don’t make me,” she begged softly, more than a little afraid. “You’re all I have, and I don’t want to leave you.”
“I would never force you. Just think about it,” her mother urged with a reassuring smile. The wind blew a strange scent their way, and her mother looked worried for a moment, but she smiled when she heard footsteps coming their way. “That must be your father.”
The attack seemed to come out of nowhere, leaving them no time to disappear into the woods. Her mother’s warning scream changed to a gurgling sound as her throat was torn open by long fangs. Nearly a dozen humanlike creatures surrounded them, moving at an inhuman speed. Several of the creatures fell upon her mother’s body. Raven heard the frightening growls and the sickening slurping sounds. Most disturbing were the popping sounds as they tore into her like wolves on a felled deer.
A rumbling growl pulled Raven’s attention from her mother. Behind her, stood a boy who looked around sixteen. He was one of those creatures. She could see the long fangs dripping with saliva as his lips curled into a sinister smile. Two more males about his age flanked him. They all had long stringy hair so dirty she couldn’t guess the color. Looking gaunt and pale, their eyes shone with hunger and madness. They smelled of blood and death, and Raven nearly gagged as the scent combined with that of her mother’s blood.
One inhaled deeply and shuddered. “Nymph,” he growled.
“Come play with us, nymph,” another crooned with a crazed laugh. The words sounded forced and didn’t flow right. It was as if he knew the words to say but his mind had to force them through his lips.
Raven’s gaze shifted to the trees. If she could just make it to those trees, she could escape by disappearing into the woods. Her eyes darted to her mother, and tears burned the backs of her eyes. Her mother was dead, and she would be too if she didn’t hurry.
The creatures were closing in on her. She spun and made a break for the trees, but they were on her instantly. Obviously, not as crazed with hunger as the others, they intended to toy with her.
“You don’t like us, nymph?” one growled as his arm snaked around her waist and pulled her close. She nearly gagged from his breath.
“She ran cuz she knows we like it,” another said with a cross between a growl and a laugh. He moved in front of her to graze her neck with his fangs.
Raven stood frozen. She felt the sharp points nick her skin and then felt the trickle of her own blood. His tongue lapped at the blood as another one laughed.
“Save some nymph for me,” the third one hissed from her side.
Suddenly, Raven was released from her frozen state, and she brought her knee up between the legs of the one in front of her. When he doubled over, she struggled to free herself from the one behind her. He was too strong, and he simply laughed as the one doubled over on the ground cursed her and made threats. At least, she assumed they were threats. His words had become disjointed and made little sense. Obviously, pain made it harder for him to speak.
Gunshots distracted the creatures, and Raven managed to wiggle free, but her legs wouldn’t carry her to the woods. She dropped to the ground as three humans destroyed the surrounding creatures.
“Raven,” her father said in a gentle voice. There he was in his military fatigues. She was surprised by how much he’d aged in ten years. That’s what humans did; they grew older and died.
“Daddy,” she whimpered like a frightened little girl, which was how she felt. After spending years feeling superior to her father, he’d been the one to save her. “What are they?”
“Vampires,” he spat out as though it were a curse. “I was trying to get to you in time. I was going to tell your mother to take you back into the woods and not come out again. When I sent you away last time, I thought we’d have this mess cleaned up by now. I’m sorry I failed you, baby girl.” There were unshed tears in his eyes. “You have to go back.”
It was then Raven finally let her tears fall. Vampires had killed her mother. How could she return home? She’d never really belonged there, and now she had nothing to go back to.
“Please don’t send me away, Daddy,” she sobbed. “There’s nothing left for me there.”
He stroked her hair and lifted her into his arms.
“Don’t worry, baby girl,” he said softly. “I’ll take care of you.”
In that moment, she felt like his baby girl—the girl who used to wait anxiously at the edge of the woods for her daddy to visit. All she wanted was for him to hold her and make he
r feel safe again.
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