Synopsis

Twins Peter and Josh had no idea they were being watched. They also had no idea that their strange uncle belonged to another world; a world of vampires, strange beasts and powerful enchantments. They were, so they thought, perfectly ordinary boys, but once connected to Errin they became aware of their own powers and their destiny. Nothing was straightforward. The distinction between good and evil was not always as clear as either of them would have imagined. Vampires were not necessarily bad, and the most appealing creatures were not necessarily good, but the decisions they made were critical: the fate of an entire world depended on them.

EXCERPT

As Peter sat down, he felt the urge to look up at the vaulted ceiling.  He
immediately wished he had not, for there, hanging on a beam, was a large bat.



“He’s come back,” said Peter nervously.



“Come on down and join us, Khrull,” said Uncle Silas, looking up at the bat.



“Is this place home to a colony of them?” asked Josh.



Uncle Silas ignored the question.



The bat left the beam, heading for the space on the sofa next to Uncle Silas. 
Josh felt himself staring hard at the creature as he waited for it to
transform.



“It’s rude to stare!”  The bat spoke in an adolescent girl’s voice.



“Wow!” said Josh.  “It’s a girl.”



The bat turned to Uncle Silas.  “Not the brightest of the bunch, is he?” she
said in a clear, gentle voice, but rich in sarcastic undertones.  “Are you sure
he is a Guardian?  They tend to be much brighter!”



Josh, understandably perhaps, took exception to this, and he was just about to
say something unpleasant when Uncle Silas changed the direction of the
conversation.



“Khrull, would you mind transforming, and then we can have a conversation
without these distractions.  I have important things to say,” said Uncle
Silas.



The bat changed into a girl.  There was no puff of white smoke or anything so
dramatic.  The transformation was as smooth as that effected by Xxavorio.  One
minute there had been a bat, and the next there was a girl and, Peter thought, a
most attractive girl.  Even Josh had to admit to himself that she was not at all
bad looking, even though he was more than a little disappointed that the
transformation had not been rather more dramatic.  He would have loved to
witness something that filled in all the gaps left by the smooth and almost
instant change.  Surely, there should at least have been a cracking of bones, a
stretching of sinews, and the hair visibly shrinking away as Khrull transformed?
 There had been none of it, and that just did not seem right.



The girl looked to be about fifteen years old.  She had shoulder length
strawberry blonde hair, azure-blue eyes, full pouting lips and a nice slim
figure.  Josh could not help but notice her larger than average incisor teeth
and he found himself staring hard as he looked for traces of blood around the
girl’s mouth.



“Aw come on!  Just let’s get the silly questions out of the way, and then
perhaps you can stop staring,” Khrull said to Josh.



“Are you a vampire?” Josh blurted out.  Peter felt embarrassed at his brother’s
bluntness.  Nonetheless, it was a question he would probably have asked, albeit
it in a more subtle way.



Khrull smiled, teasing.  Peter immediately decided he liked this girl.



“Next question,” said Khrull.



Josh was not prepared to take this as an answer.  “Are you a vampire and are
you afraid of sunlight?” he persisted.



Uncle Silas decided enough was enough.  “Right, let’s put this to rest here and
now,” he said.  “Khrull is a fruit eating bat when she is not in her human
form.”



Josh felt disappointed.



“Khrull is not afraid of the sunlight, though she does tend to sleep during the
day and she prefers to get out and about at night,” said Uncle Silas.



“But are you afraid of crucifixes and garlic?” Josh asked, not convinced that
Khrull was not a bloodsucker.



“Only if the garlic is on your breath, because if I could smell it, it would
mean your mouth is too close to my face!” she replied.



Josh felt himself blush and he hoped the girl had not noticed the way he had
been looking at her.  She was, he thought, very attractive.



“As for the crucifix thing, your world’s religions mean nothing to me.  Anyway,
if I am not mistaken, a crucifix symbolises good in your world.  Sorry to
disappoint you, but I am a good bat.”



“Oh,” said Josh, wishing that he had a gift with words so that he could compete
on equal terms.  But he did not, and he could not, so he knew it was time to
withdraw.



Peter had considered his question carefully before he decided to ask it.  “Why
are you here with us?”



Khrull looked across to Uncle Silas.  “Why am I here?” she asked.