The Chosen
L. J. Smith
 This book begins with an introduction to the central protagonist, Rashel Jordan. Newly turned 5 Rashel is introduced to the Night World with the murders of her mother and her brother Timmy who she was "a whole month older than" by an unknown vampire, who is later revealed to be Hunter Redfern, a respected lamia elder. This traumatizing event is offered as the motivation behind Rashel's decision as a 17 year old to hunt and kill vampires. In the opening chapters the reader is offered an insight into her mind as she goes about her business after dark in Boston. Rashel's eventual love interest is also introduced at an early stage in the book. John Quinn, or 'Quinn' as he is known, is described in a melancholy state, reminiscing on his rebirth as a vampire and his early love, Dove Redfern. Similar to Rashel's inset hatred of vampires, Quinn is presented as hating humans due to the murder of Dove at the hands of his father. In this manner, the two central protagonists are provided with motivation to hate each other, though we suspect this hatred will be short lived. Quinn is discovered and captured by a group of vampire hunters and imprisoned in a cellar. Rashel, who numbers among the group, takes pity on him, and encourages her fellow vampire hunters to continue the hunt while she stands guard over the prisoner. She suspects that the others means to torture him, and intends to kill him honorably. Before Rashel can do this, Quinn engages her in conversation. Rashel finds herself attracted to the vampire and allows him to break free of his constraints. The two fight, however upon touching they find themselves drawn to each other and seem to see into each other's souls . Before Quinn can remove the ninja-type mask that Rashel wears, the other vampire hunters return and the couple are broken up as Quinn is forced to flee. When Rashel returns to the cellar area to search for vampires, she is just in time to rescue a human girl, Daphne, who has been captured by vampires and just managed to escape. With Daphne's help, Rashel goes to a club where vampires, including Quinn, are capturing human girls for the slave trade. Her plan is to be captured herself so she can infiltrate a vampire enclave; the plan works, but on the island enclave, Rashel learns that the girls are not to be normal slaves, but will be drained dry in a Bloodfeast; something illegal in the Night World. Escaping with the girls to the Warf, Rashel, masquerading as a girl called Shelly, is saved from an angry werewolf guard by Quinn, who does not know her true identity as the girl in the cellar first, but later connects the two instances after Rashel fights him and defeats him. Choosing not to kill him, Rashel knocks Quinn out and returns to the house to kill the vampires who were going to participate in the Bloodfeast. Quinn recovers quickly and captures Rashel. Always a stickler to the rules, Quinn tells Rashel he is going to make her a vampire so that they can be together without breaking the Night World law that states a Night Worlder can not fall in love with a human. Despite Rashel proclaiming that she would stake herself as soon as she woke up as a vampire, he bites her anyways, sure that she'll change her mind once he turns her. However, when he drinks from her the Soulmate Principle takes over and their minds merge. Quinn is then able to see that Rashel hates vampires because of the one that killed her mother. Now understanding what drives her, he decides to accept her the way she is and tries to help her stop the Bloodfeast. When they confront the other vampires, they learn that Hunter Redfern is the one who staged the Bloodfeast, and Rashel recognizes him as the one who killed her mother. Cruel as ever, Hunter taunts Rashel by revealing her childhood friend: Timmy, still exactly the same as he was the last time Rashel saw him, a four year old child, now a made vampire, turned presumably by Hunter. Quinn and Rashel face off against Hunter and the vampires from the Bloodfeast. As they prepare to fight, Nyala, a fellow vampire hunter who has gone a bit insane due to the death of her sister and discovering about the Night World, appears with a burning gasoline bottle. Because the house is wood, it is a death trap for vampires, and they flee as Nyala sets the house on fire. Quinn and Rashel escape with Timmy, whom she refuses to leave behind. As soon as they get out, Rashel wants to go back and rescue Nyala who is still in the burning house. Quinn goes instead to Rashel's dismay, but returns alive with Nyala in tow but passed out. While she was waiting for Quinn, Timmy crankily asks her why she saved him, and with tears in her eyes she replies, "Because my mom told me to take care of you." Her mother had asked that of her at the beginning of the book. After Quinn comes out, they leave on Hunter's yacht, the other girls already having left. Rashel knows the place for them now is Circle Daybreak with the "damned Daybreakers," a group consisting of Night People and humans who are trying to work together to make peace among the Night World and the human world.