Black Hellebore
by Maya Shepherd
"Do you know what makes black hellebores so special?...They are beautiful to look at, but their sap is poisonous, even deadly. You remind me of them."School is pure torture for 17-year old Lia, as she is a victim of incessant mobbing. As the daily attacks on her become increasingly more cruel and violent, she seeks relief in the more notorious nightclubs in town...Here she can be someone entirely different: someone strong and free. At "Exit", she runs into Orlando, a vampire. At first, she is nothing but another plaything for this creature of the night, but everything changes as he finds he cannot drink her blood. To him, she is as poisonous as the sap of the black hellebore.