The story went that Trinity Cove was a town that never prospered, never gaining in a population that seemed to stabilize at a low one thousand. Even though it had been around for close to a hundred years, the small Atlantic town was just as ghost-like as it had always been, small town life not fit for the new bustle of city glamour. Being an old bandit's hideout back in the 1940's, the town had its fair share of history.
Once a threshold for the hundreds of thieves and pirates that transported stolen loot from Mexico, it had thrived as being the resting place were police dared not set foot. It was a place of deception and death, hundreds of Porte Rican ships docking for the flourishing slave trade that was taking place throughout North America. Though the conditions that the people lived under were no secret, the town itself was specter-like in its ways. Through the facade of a small trading community, they seemed to slip under the radar... no threat, no notice.
It was only due to leader, Daemon 'the demon' Vertik, that the town prospered for so long. Born under the crimson moon and bathed in his mother's blood, Daemon had been a cold-blooded assassin and thief since he was able to crawl. There were few who stood in the way of the powerful young man, and even fewer who dared to do so. He had skinned people alive and let the crows pick at the remains for much less then getting in his way. Though he was a ruthless killer, and despised by many, he was also the one responsible for the preservation of the town. He was the one that allowed for it to run successfully for many years.
It was in the 1950's that Trinity Cove established a name for itself, though not in the way one would have expected.
1952 was the year that Daemon met his match in a fiery young woman that eventually led to his demise. Her name was Anita Sharpe, an escapee from the local institution who was doing time for murder under influence of hallucinations. To the townspeople she was nothing more than crazy... but to Daemon she became something greater.
No one was sure how their meeting occurred but over months it became clear that there was something going on between the two. Something wrong, something sinful, something... dark.
Anita was often seen standing in the window of the Vertik Manor accompanied by the Lord, arm in arm, as they looked out over the land. She also toured around town in clothing embellished with the Vertik emblem and spent coin that one could only assume came from him.
Rumors flew that the two were demonic lovers, bound by the darkness in their souls.
The rumor, however, stopped abruptly when Daemon was shot in the guestroom of his manner by the very one people had assumed him to love. After shooting him twice in the chest, she took what she had originally come for: his fortune. All before skipping town on the next boat to anywhere and leaving him to slowly bleed to death on the floor of his manor.
Social corrosion instantly set in after word of the murder got out, the police invading Trinity Cove the moment the demon was gone. The townspeople, not expecting such an instantaneous rush, were expelled from the small town... and those who weren't were shipped off to prisons to live out life sentences. Others were ruthlessly hunted down as they tried to escape to the border. The few who actually stayed behind with clear conscience were the ones who set the foundation for the towns rebirth.
They were also the only ones that knew the terrifying secret that lay dormant within the Vertik Manor.
After all, after the murder someone had to lay the lifeless body of the demon to rest... a rest that would never be reached, and was clearly not wanted.
Scrawled on to the wall in bubbling black blood was written the words that erupted from the restless Daemon's tormented soul... a warning to any of those who foolishly chose to believe that he was gone.
-The darkness never dies. Those who deny my place shall never rest, but bleed crimson for my pleasure. The demon never sleeps-
------------------------
Aaron smiled broadly as they finally arrived at their new place in Trinity Cove, whistling as he saw the size of it for the first time, "Shit, this place is huge. Mom and dad sure weren't kidding when they said this place has space." He turned into the driveway and parked the truck, letting it roll back to a stop. He looked over his shoulder, "Ready?"
"No" came the muffled reply from the back.
"C'mon you grumpy little shit, you've been moping the entire car ride. I told mom I'd have you smiling by the time we got here" Aaron said, grinning as blond and black strands of hair fell over his eyes.
He dodged a hand as he was swatted at from the backseat, "Bad, Lior, no hitting."
Angel sat up from the backseat ruffling already tussled ivory locks with her fingers, "You're too cheery for someone who's so occult happy. And for once could you call me by my name? You [i]do[/i] know it right?"
"Of course" Aaron cooed, "But I like Lior. It's a special name just for you, you should be thrilled".
She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before replacing her sunglasses, "People don't even know what you're talking about when you call me that."
"And since you're never around any people that works rather nicely, doesn't it?"
She gave a slight smile, "Ouch, that one hurt."
She gave a sigh as she looked up at the house that was spit with peeling paint and overgrown shrubbery, half expecting it to fall apart with the weight of her gaze. As a shiver ran through her frame, she pulled up the shoulders of her hoodie, "Why is it so cold here?"
"We're not in Arizona anymore" Aaron said, getting out of the car and promptly grabbing some bags from the back. He threw one of them at his sister as she sluggishly jumped from the backseat, watching as she caught it quickly. He dodged it as it came flying back at him, "You like throwing things at me, don't you?"
"It's one of my favorite past times" she replied as she lifted her twice-thrown bag onto her shoulder and grabbed her other suitcases. She shivered again as she started walking up to the front porch, kicking up dirt unintentionally as she watched the clouds shadow over the area. She jumped when her brother put his arm around his shoulder.
"What're you thinking about?"
She pushed her shades up until they rested firmly in her hair, tentative azure eyes looking up at the towering manor in apprehension, "How our house back in Arizona was great... and how nobody was killed in it."
"Don't tell me you're afraid of the big bad legends?" Aaron teased, slinging his guitar over his shoulder. He pinched her cheek mockingly, "Because from what I here, we're the first ones who have lived in this house since he died. That means we get to be the first ones to suffer if there's a vengeful spirit inside."
Angel jerked her face away from him, "Why do you have to be such a jerk?"
"Why do you have to be so gullible?" he responded with a half-cocked smile, "Oh, that's right, it was you who was seeing dead people until she was ten."
She glared at him icily, "Thanks for that, Aaron, I really do like to relive those wonderful four years spent in a padded white cell. I know you were busy slumming for chicks in Jamaica, but please try to humor me."
