“It could be staring her straight in the face and she wouldn’t see it,” Eloisa added.

Without looking at either of them, I whispered, “I do see it!” Looking over Kayla’s shoulder there was a small alcove set into the wall. Beneath it there was a comfortable-looking armchair, a small electric heater, a coffee table, and an old fashioned lampstand. This setting looked at complete odds to the rest of the laboratory. It was like somebody had a made comfortable little rest area, where they could take a break from their scientific experiments and relax with a good…book! And it was that which I could see resting on the arm of the flea-bitten armchair.

With my heart racing in my chest, I hurried around the work benches and made my way into the snug little alcove. I snatched up the book, and before I’d even turned it over in my hands I knew what it would be. I looked down at the cover and read the title on the front.

The Wind in the Willows

Frantically, I thumbed through the pages, and it was identical to the one that I had in the zoo. But that was the problem, there didn’t appear to be any numbers or odd-looking shapes and symbols on any of the pages of this book, either.

“What’s wrong?” Kayla asked, coming to stand beside me.

“This is the story, the book your father read to me as I slipped in and out of consciousness,” I told her, as I skipped through the pages hoping that something, some sign would jump out at me. “I thought the code was hidden within its pages –but just like the copy I had in the zoo, I can’t see -”

Then I saw it, a message written on the inside of the dust jacket. Taking the book in my hands, I sat in the armchair and read the message.

Hello Kiera,

If you are reading this, then my good friend, Doctor Hunt was right in his theory that you would escape your cage and find this book. I should have been here to greet you – that was our plan – but my time is short, I know that. It is only a matter of time – days or hours – before I am found.

So I’ll try and explain everything here and I hope in some way this will help you on your journey that lies ahead. I knew after meeting you at the manor that you were special, but I could also tell that you had no idea how special you are. Did this surprise me? No. Neither did it surprise Doctor (Lord) Hunt as we both knew that there is still so much that you do not know – so much that has not yet been explained to you.

Some of the Vampyrus history was explained to you in The Ragged Cove by our friend, Luke Bishop, but I don’t believe at the time that even he understood your significance. To be honest, I don’t think any of us did. I know that Luke cares for you deeply, and I believe that, in part, this was why he held back some of the truth from you. He told me that you might have been frightened and he didn’t want to lose you.

Luke was right in what he told you – the Vampyrus have lived beneath ground for thousands of years – too many to remember. But we were not here first- nor were the humans for that matter – we evolved together. But as we grew and spread across the Earth, the Vampyrus and the humans fought over the planet for thousands of years, until eventually a truce was made. It is written in legend that the gods were so displeased with how our two races had almost destroyed the planet that they had given to us, they decided to separate the Vampyrus and humans. They banished the Vampyrus underground and the humans above ground.

You may think that the Vampyrus got a bad deal – but believe me, Kiera, when I tell you that The Hollows are majestic and stooped in mystery, a beautiful world just as glorious as above-ground – if not better!

The truce lasted many thousands of years and it was as if the humans and the Vampyrus forgot about each other – in fact they did. It was as if to each other, neither existed. But as time passed from one generation to another, a Vampyrus was born who was named Elias Munn. Some say that he wasn’t born at all as he cannot be traced to any other members of the Vampyrus race. Legend says that, as a boy, he got lost in the many caverns and tunnels in The Hollows. For weeks he wandered, hungry and cold until by chance he happened upon a tunnel that led above ground. To his amazement, he discovered a whole new world above the one he had lived his short life. He kept this discovery a secret and over the following years he would sneak above ground and discovered that, free of The Hollows, he looked like the creatures that lived above him. Gone were his wings, his black bristling fur, claws and fangs. So enchanted by this new world he had discovered, he made a life for himself and eventually fell in love with a human female. They loved one another deeply, until one fateful day he made a mistake. He revealed his true identity to her. She was overcome with revulsion and fear at the sight of him, she ultimately rejected him. Driven mad with hurt and despair, Elias Munn plunged his fist into her chest and tore her heart out, screaming that if he couldn’t have her heart then no other man could. Even though she lay dead at his feet, Elias ate her heart to make sure that no other would ever have her heart again.

From that moment on, the gods cursed him for taking a human life and breaking the truce. But it wasn’t only Elias they punished; they cursed the entire Vampyrus race. Because he had eaten human flesh – we were all cursed with the thirst for it. It was the gods’ final attempt of stopping us from venturing above ground. Within The Hollows the cravings fade. But those of us with good hearts can resist human flesh for a time above ground, before needing to return to The Hollows. Those with hate and fear in their hearts can go only hours, at the most, days, before they need to return to The Hollows. But the gods’ plan failed as Elias, bitter and twisted with hate for the humans because of his lover’s rejection, encouraged other like-minded Vampyrus to go above ground and feed, which brought about the creation of vampires.

So, over the centuries, there have been outbreaks of vampire attacks above ground. Fearing that humans would once again remember the Vampyrus and come in search of us, bringing war to The Hollows – the elders and lawmakers sent teams like Murphy, Luke, and Potter to hunt down this bloodthirsty Vampyrus and bring him back to The Hollows.

But Elias Munn is rumoured to have become immortal from the blood that he drank from his lover’s heart. He has never aged since that day. No one now knows his true identity or name, as over the centuries he has adopted many different guises. It is he who now threatens the fragile peace that exists between the humans and Vampyrus. But it was prophesied that if the humans and the Vampyrus couldn’t live together in peace, the gods would send a ‘half and half’ – part human and part Vampyrus – a half-breed to settle the conflict once and for all. The gods would let that half-breed decide which race should survive and which should perish. But the half-breed wouldn’t come alone – there would be two others sent to help and guide this half-breed as their journey would be hard and long and fraught with many battles and dangers.

So, if you were hoping to find a code, a series of numbers or words hidden amongst the pages of this book, then you are mistaken. Kiera, you are the code! You are the half-breed who has been sent to decide which of our two races will survive while the other perishes. Myth and legend says that the gods believe that only you can be impartial as you are the best of both of our races. Kiera, the gods are leaving it up to you to decide which race lives and which one dies. The Vampyrus know this and that is why they had you locked up in that zoo. They wanted to strip you of your humanity – the human part of you. They wanted you to become an animal, to think like an animal, get you addicted to human flesh so you would see that race as nothing more than animals to feed on.

Doctor Hunt and I knew we had to get you away from there before they broke you completely. He wanted you to save his two children, the half-breeds that have been born, to help and guide you. He didn’t want their humanity taken away – it was all that was left of their mother – the woman that he loved and who was murdered. But we were being watched. Everything we said or did was being monitored. So many times Doctor Hunt wanted to tell you what was happening – what they were trying to do to you. Hunt had heard about your gift – your ability to see things – to work situations out by seeing what everyone else failed to notice. So he was convinced that if he gave you enough clues, enough subtle hints, even in your almost catatonic state you would be able to piece them all together.

So he came up with a plan. Doctor Hunt would read you books in which the heroes escaped. Time and time again, he read you those chapters about Mr. Toad escaping from the prison and Peter Rabbit fleeing Mr. McGregor, hoping that you would take the bait and figure out your own escape. Hunt also needed you to make an emotional connection to the books, in the hope that if you ever saw one of those books again, it would remind you of the times he spent reading to you and the message that he was hoping you would see. He hoped that if you ever saw this book again, it would trigger something within you. That’s why he got Nik to bring a copy to you in your cell. I wasn’t convinced, but if you are reading this now, then you must have escaped and you must have picked up this book the moment you saw it, and my dear friend and colleague, Lord Hunt was right about you.

Hunt figured out who you were and your purpose after studying your DNA in the facility. Your DNA almost blew our minds. We’d never seen anything like it. I don’t have the time to explain what we discovered, but believe me, Kiera, when I tell you that you are going to be incredible!

But what now? The Vampyrus have samples of your DNA, but as you know, Doctor Hunt had it corrupted with the infection that came from the werewolf’s bite. The Vampyrus will continue to try and create other half-breeds like you, Kayla, and Isidor, but as you well know, they will grow ill and die. It won’t take long for the Vampyrus to realise that they have been deceived and what they have to work with is useless. So for now, go to The Hollows. You will be safe there. Let your friends, Luke and Potter guide you. Seek out a friend of mine called Felix Coanda. He is expecting you. Coanda will be able to help you. I’m sorry that I won’t be alive to help you myself. But go quickly, Kiera, because he will come for you. Hunt believed that someone already close to you is a traitor – I was never convinced of that. Maybe he was right and I didn’t want to see it.