Wrenching Fate by Brooklyn Ann Page A

people indulging in drunken debauchery that he hadn’t enjoyed for five centuries. Two boys held the legs of another as he drank from a keg upside down. Silas chuckled, remembering doing just that from a barrel of ale.
    His heart gave a pang of longing as he spotted Akasha, standing near a crudely erected stage, drinking beer and watching a group of musicians perform. Drums sounded and a demonic scream rent the air.
    Goosebumps rose up on the vampire’s skin as power prickled the air. The creature on the stage with the black and purple hair was the inhuman presence: Xochitl, the daughter of the creator of vampires. She stood before the microphone, playing a guitar with expert fingers and singing with the most beautiful voice he’d ever heard, punctuating the song with screams of rage. Power thrummed through her, the likes of which he’d never felt.
    As Silas’s gaze traveled over her and the other musicians, a premonition hit him.
    This is supposed to be, an inner voice announced. They and their music will shape your destiny and those of many worlds . That insistent voice unnerved him far worse than his visions, for it came so rarely.
    The vampire’s breath caught at the music. He’d never before cared for heavy metal music, but the way these four combined rhythms and melodies could have made Mozart weep. They had great talent at such tender ages. How much is learned, and how much is the destiny that binds them? Silas could almost see the lines of power linking the group. Xochitl looked ethereally beautiful up on stage; her jet black and purple hair flowed in the wind, her eyes molten amber in the firelight. The other three were an impressive sight with all the passion they displayed.
    Silas watched the performance, periodically looking at Akasha who appeared to be just as amazed. The other revelers danced with abandon, oblivious that powerful magic was at work here. The song ended and he had to fight to keep from applauding with the rest of the audience.
    A boy stumbled near his hiding spot to urinate, so he had to back away.
    When he found another vantage point the band had exited the stage, put away their instruments and joined Akasha.
    “You guys were fucking incredible!” Her amethyst eyes sparkled.
    The bass player had his arm around Akasha as other girls began to swarm him. Silas bared his fangs. How dare that messy-haired brat touch her! It was all he could do not to leap forward and pull her into his arms.
    “Hey! You lookin’ at me fag?” A Goliath of a boy in a letterman jacket approached the bass player.
    The bassist rolled his eyes. “No, I don’t do jocks, jackass.”
    “What’d you call me?” The jock grabbed the boy, towering over him and emanating menace.
    Akasha grabbed the assailant, lifted him in the air and threw him. He crashed into a group of other boys in matching jackets.
    How in God’s name did she do that? The lad outweighs her by at least a hundred pounds! Silas froze, remembering her unnatural strength the night they tuned up his car. So I didn’t imagine it then.
    “You fuck with Beau, you fuck with me,” Akasha growled, turning Silas’s attention back to the fight.
    A crowd gathered, cheering at the entertainment. Xochitl and the other two girls leapt into the fray. Beau didn’t need Akasha’s help. Though he was small and wiry, the lad held his own just fine, fists flying into the faces of his attackers and jumping back up when he took a blow. To the vampire’s further astonishment, Xochitl and the blue-haired guitar player both appeared to be skilled in hand to hand combat. After a few lightning-quick hits and roundhouse kicks their enemies avoided them completely. Their opponents tried to help their comrade fight Beau, but Xochitl and her friend wouldn’t let them near.
    Akasha and the drummer were at the far end of the circle of spectators. The drummer straddled her opponent, bashing his head on the ground until he begged for mercy. Akasha was being careful with her