Free Dark Season: The Complete Box Set by Amy Cross Page A

he can hear it in the distance, or smell it on the breeze. It's a unique gift, I've never known anyone who..." He trails off, as if he has already said too much.
    "What's that got to do with me?" I ask.
    He smiles. "If you could sense destiny, wouldn't you be drawn to it? Wouldn't you be curious? Wouldn't you want to get closer and take a good look at it?"
    "He thinks it's his destiny to know me?"
    Vincent shakes his head. "He doesn't think, he knows . I know too. It's all in the Book of Gothos ."
    "The book of what ?"
    "You'll learn eventually," he replies. "You wouldn't understand now, but one day Patrick will take you to Gothos and you'll see it all."
    "I don't know about that," I say. To be honest, I'm not sure that I want to go anywhere with Patrick. There's something about him that I don't quite trust. In fact, I'm starting to think that maybe I'm in shock. How else could you explain the fact that after everything that's happened today, I haven't run away screaming? I'm not exactly a strong person.
    "It's your destiny," Vincent continues, "just as it's your destiny to..." He pauses, and a sad look enters his eyes.
    "Tell me," I say.
    He takes a deep breath. "Patrick knows that it's his destiny... to one day kill you."
    I shake my head. "That's impossible."
    "It's what will happen," he says quietly. "One day, Patrick will kill you."
    I shake my head.
    "It's all true," Vincent continues. "There are forces, Sophie, that are far greater than anything we can see. Pulses and currents that run through our destinies, binding us together in subtle ways."
    "I'm not going to sit around and wait for someone to kill me," I say, heading over to the door.
    "You have no choice," he says. "Besides, when Patrick kills you, it'll be your fault. One day, you're going to do something so awful, so terrible, that he'll be filled with anger and he'll end your life."
    "Then I'll keep away from him," I reply.
    "There's nothing you can do to avoid your destiny," he says. "The prophecy of the last vampire is quite clear on this point."
    "The last vampire?"
    "Patrick's the last," says Vincent. "He's been the last for a very long time."
    I think for a moment. My mind is racing, and my heart's beating so fast it might leap out of my body at any moment. "1959..." I say quietly. "He was the last vampire in 1959?"
    "As I said," Vincent says, "he's been the last vampire for many years."
    We both turn out heads to look at the door as we hear footsteps getting closer. Patrick is finally returning.
    "You can't tell him that you know any of this," says Vincent hurriedly.
    "I'm getting out of here," I say, hurrying from the room. Even though I don't believe in destiny and all that stuff, I feel as if I need to get as far away from Patrick and Vincent as possible. As I make my way out of the house, however, I come face to face with Patrick once again. He’s a horrific sight. There’s blood all around his mouth, and smeared on his face and on his hands. His clothes are torn. He seems to be out of breath and totally shocked, and there’s a look in his eyes that tells me there’s nothing I can say or do right now. He stares at me, and I stare back at him, and finally I realize it's all true. He really is a vampire, and he really could kill me one day.
    "I'm sorry," I mutter, "I have to go."
    He reaches out to stop me.
    "Don't touch me!" I shout, before turning and hurrying across the chamber. I run along the tunnel that leads back up to the forest. When I reach the clearing, I pause for a moment, feeling as if Patrick is standing right behind me. When I turn to look, however, there's no sign of him.

Book 2
     
    Sentinel

Prologue
     
    Dedston, September 30th 1959
     
    I go down to the beach to wash the blood from my hands, my face and my clothes. Although it comes from two very different bodies, all the blood is the same: hot, red and sticky.
    Wading into the ocean, I walk out until I'm completely submerged. The current is strong and I struggle to stay on my