Prologue
Valentina slept. No, that's not exactly true, for to all human understanding Valentina was well and truly dead. But that's not exactly true either, for while Valentina's body, lying there in her big bed, was dead, her mind remained active.
The ancient people in her land of Mexico considered her their Goddess. They had worshiped her for centuries as the Goddess Mictecacihuatl. The title Goddess was apt, for she was indeed such. Modern people, steeped in the terrifying legends of Eastern Europe would consider her a vampire. That term was perhaps equally fitting.
As her cold and still blood pooled within her decaying body Valentina dreamed exciting dreams. Her dreams were such for she knew that Misty was on her way. Misty, her latest prey, her new pet, drove and dominated her dreams, for very soon, she knew, that most interesting of creatures would be kneeling at her feet.
On one of her recent, and frequent forays into Misty's mind, Valentina had made certain to leave an understanding within her prey of exactly who and what she was traveling to encounter. Valentina knew that Misty understood that she was giving herself over to a true Goddess, not a mortal woman.
Valentina had taken pains to ensure that Misty fully acknowledged to herself that at Valentina's hand she would find her own personal destruction. Eventually, her death as Valentina consumed every drop of her precious blood.
Misty was coming to Valentina willingly, gratefully actually. Just as countless others had done in ancient times. Misty was coming to her on an airliner. In times now long past they came equally willingly to her by climbing the steps of sacred pyramids. The form had changed, yet the impulse towards self-destruction that was buried deeply within all those born as prey remained the same.
Valentina dreamed, her dream a vision of Misty coming to her, climbing up the stairs of the pyramid that once dominated the skyline of Tenochtitlan, Valentina's beloved City of Mexico. Finally reaching the summit Misty would fall to her knees, and there at Valentina's feet, meet her individual extinction.
Valentina was dead, her body was moldering in her bed, yet she dreamed. She dreamed wonderful dreams.
Chapter 1
Misty worked up all of her courage and stepped over the threshold, entering the airplane. In the normal way of things it was a small step, yet to her, it was the largest step she had taken in her life. Only her firm resolve and promise to herself that she would follow through prevented her from turning around and fleeing the jet.