 
### Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Acknowledgements

Part 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Part 2

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

About the Author

#

# Snow

# The Black Ice Series

# Book 1

# Mikayla Elliot

#

Snow

Copyright© 2017 Mikayla Elliot

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1548828196

First Edition

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, recording, or otherwise without the prior express permission of the author except as provided by USA Copyright Law. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment

This book is a work of fiction and does not represent any individual, living or dead. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictionally.

Edited by Karen Robinson

Proofread by Jennifer Oberth

Interior formatting by Gaynor Smith

All of Indie Books Gone Wild

Cover design by Fiona Jayde

Published in the United States of America

#

Acknowledgements

Dedicated to my dear friend, Justin Fallon, for always encouraging me to complete this novel throughout the years

With love, appreciation, & many thanks to my parents for their unbelievable support

Muffin, you kept me in line and laughing with your sarcastic honesty, now it's your turn, Write, sister

Thank you, to the amazing team of my editor, proofreader, cover designer, and formatter, because none of this would have been properly presented otherwise

#

# Part I

# Unfortunate Beginnings

January 1287

#

#

DARKNESS IS AN unwelcome thing these days; it runs through my eyes and into the core of my mind where it rolls over and over, a black tide that swallows me into the depths of silence and cold. It is all I have known for two hundred and fifty years. My name is Neva, and I miss the world of light dearly.

When I became what I am now, I was in shock and panic. I was too weak to react in any way other than lying helplessly on the floor, letting tears burrow lines down the sides of my face. A chandelier of crystal with diamond accents strung on golden wires was hanging above me, and I could see every single thing in the room reflected within the prisms. However, the fire burning in my neck distracted me from taking in the full visual from that hanging mirror. I could hear a woman screaming and could smell blood, our blood, together. My blood was on the floor, on her lips and tongue, while hers was being painted across the walls as a dark figure slit her throat. Her gargled words of "traitor" and "why" were silenced as her body was thrown against a wall; a heavy thud accompanied the impact that gave the wall new dimension.

I could pick up other scents easily matched to the reflections in the chandelier. The man who had brought me to this room, the reason I was present for the horror playing out before me, was curled into a corner. Bastard, I thought. I could smell his urine mixed with his expensive cologne. Scared, spineless bastard. My body arched and shook as my eyes rolled back and caught the other man's visage. There is the devil, I thought. The dark figure smelled of patchouli, light and alluring through my suffering. His eyes were the beacon in the room for my eyes; where he looked, I looked. I could hear him, yet I never saw his lips move. Then he was at my side, asking if I wanted to see my family again, if I wanted to see my nieces playing.

"I want you to live, Neva," he said so gently, so sweetly. "I have plans for you, my dear, and I offer you a chance to see the ones you love the most once again." They were poison, those words. The offer he gave was one I didn't believe he could follow through on.

I accepted with a nod while inside I was screaming out for him to save me, help me, over and over, a chant and a plea. So he did. This dark figure leaned across me, and for the first time, I could almost clearly see his features, but blood had pooled into my eyes and replaced my tears. He bit into my neck where the woman had. I felt the agony intensify; his bite was deeper, and I still held no strength to push him away. As the fire in my blood and heart burned into an inferno, my mind was ablaze. My mouth opened wide to scream, but no noise came; his words and will silenced my voice from within my mind. His essence caused the convulsing and increasing of my senses; I could smell and see everything when all had begun to dissipate in my dying moments.

In the beginning, I thought my skin was melting, but then the sensation shifted to my skin and tissue being torn off, bit by bit, with an endless array of rusted nails. My skin and muscle tissue felt as though they had been sloughed away from the bones as the fever peaked, but instead, the muscles tore and tendons tightened as my bones bent and most assuredly broke beneath the pressure. My body was an offering to the sadist as his bite rooted itself firmly into my veins. My heart became a cage filled with hummingbirds suffering from rabies; the fluttering and beating was going to break through my sternum and leave a beautiful display of my remaining life, an artistic expression covering the room from ceiling to floor. My mind was a blistering of sensors; everything was lighting across my brain and, if seen from the inside, would have held such an array of colors it could have lit the world on fire.

I later realized he was replacing the woman's influence with his own as he held his bite firm, though at the time I thought he had finally drained my body completely, and I waited to welcome death. It would have been more peaceful, merciful even, because how I was still alive through such trauma was a marvel. With his poison coursing into my veins, the woman's poison seemed like a pinprick compared to his knives assaulting my body. The pain doubled, then tripled with no possible comparison. I knew no physical comparison was possible in the entire world because his mind told me it was so.

Then, all I could see changed. Everything became unstable, warping by being stretched out too far and then crashing in to tight fragments. Yet the torment left as swiftly as it had struck, and the fire numbed beneath my skin and in my heart. My entire body followed suit, and my mind became a blank slate in a healthy state of awe. I was left to feel only my heart.

It was slowing.

I closed my mouth slowly, not knowing how it was possible after I was certain every part of me was broken. As he drew back, I watched with an emptiness as he smiled down at me.

"Time to be free," he whispered.

My mind burned. The fire had not left but simply migrated; it was hot and liquid yet felt like lead. He parted my lips for me and dragged his thumbnail across his wrist; his blood barely seeped out at first. My mind and the panic were still acutely aware, yet my heart was slowing to its impending end as he lowered his wrist to my mouth and gently pressed it upon my lips, into my teeth. A sweet metallic taste on my tongue spurred the desire, which pressured my heart to beat and forced my teeth to dig into his skin. I fed, taking from him what had just been taken from me: precious life. He was the one who stopped me; I know now if he had not, I would have taken the last drop of blood he had to offer. Too bad really, he was quite a delicacy.

The woman, the one I had thought was dead, got up from the floor, grasping her healing throat. I was alive again--and beyond that. My heart was running wild yet entirely silent while my mind was the ocean at its calmest. She became my first kill, one of my own kind.

Anger was all I felt in the subtle hatred still simmering in my heart and veins. I was pulled to my feet by the dark figure. I gave him no recognition, as though he were but a tool I utilized. In a moment, I was standing before the staggering woman, letting her see my face, take it in, and remember it in her last moments. Everything was instinct, I like to believe, and not just my hatred and hunger combining to form the monster I was in that instant. My body had begun to shift and change; I felt as if my muscles had doubled, and the tightened dress, ever resilient, resisted tearing open. All my veins and arteries were pulsing throughout my body as I grabbed her by her throat with my right hand, holding her a few inches from the floor, and slammed her against the wall until she hung like a rag doll. I stood watching as she futilely clawed at my hands and face. My entire body felt rigid; it was a reflection of hard edges, as though adamantite had replaced my bones and steel wires my muscles. The change was boiling in my veins, pulsing with my heart while it raced harder.

In my mind, I was flipping through the memories still fresh before the acid took over my body, fueling the insanity I was burning through in that instant. I pulled my left arm back and struck my hand into her body, my fingers and hand straight as a spear that pierced her heart. No semblance of who I once was stood there before that dying woman. I twisted my hand and felt a warm liquid spill down my arm, hot blood invading my senses. It tingled, a warm bubbling sensation over my arm, and smelled more inviting than any pastry I had ever baked. I wanted to eat her then, not just drink her blood, but taste her flesh between my lips and know her skin that way. Revenge held me steadfast.

"Was he really worth all of this?" I asked with my voice coarse and low, foreign to my ears.

She was screaming hoarsely as I twisted my arm back and forth, and only then did I realize men were yelling through the bolted double doors, hammering away at them. The woman's screams diminished quickly. I immediately blocked the impending intruders' noise out of my mind. I had no more time to play with her, so I withdrew my left arm from her body and released her throat, letting her fall, her screaming having fully ceased. She was slumped lifeless into a pile of peach taffeta, such a lovely color complementing her. Grabbing her white-blonde hair, I dragged her, trailing a wide streak of blood, to the massive stone fireplace that took over a single wall in the study.

Above the fireplace sat an immense mural of the man cowering in the corner, ironically showing him sitting bravely upon a white horse with his royal decorations displayed and common folk surrounding him with welcoming faces. A giggle escaped my closed lips. With ease, I picked up the dead woman's body and disposed of it into the hearth in a single heave. To the left of the opening sat a five-piece set of fireplace tools; I grabbed the poker and stuffed in the edges of her dress. I watched as her beautiful gown immediately became engulfed within the orange flames; a hissing sound issued against my hearing. I stood for a moment as the fire tried to match the smolder in my skin; the body twitched and writhed as one last gasp came from the melting lips. The smell of her hair and burning skin would have repulsed me, but I took in three deep breaths, reveling in the glory of her death. I laughed, a deep low sound that shook my body, my very alive body, to the core.

The man in the corner was mumbling and getting louder with every passing moment. I turned my gaze to him and could immediately see what he saw of me. A woman in emerald green, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, left arm covered in blood dripping slowly off her elbow, standing nonchalantly by the fire with eyes that were an ever-changing kaleidoscope. I went to him then, a slight swagger to my walk, purposefully taking my time so he could see his impending doom. He became kill number two, and my first taste of human.

"Am I everything you wanted and more?" My words were a sweet, alluring poison as the man stared up into my face. His deep brown eyes were lost as his soft, ash blond hair danced excitedly with every shake of his head.

My spell was gone by the last shake of his head; I let go of my control. Though I did not understand that fact in the moment, it was the direct result of my subconscious desires. I saw his fear and then tasted it as he screamed. I was at his neck and biting down, drinking his blood and taking his life, my hands pressed so hard upon his shoulders I heard and felt them cracking beneath my grip as my fingernails dug deep into his soft tissue. I felt my new teeth break through my gum line, a pain and pleasure meeting as one, and bury into his neck long, deep indentures that cut through into his throat where air was entering and exiting.

He continued to scream in a gargled frenzy until I tore away, taking part of his neck and throat with me. I then realized he had been pushing against me, grabbing my arms and body and anything else to fight me off, but I had felt none of it. No resistance, though it had been there. He was grabbing at his throat with his hands; shock had set in, and he sat gasping with his mouth wide open in an attempt to cry out his horror, not that he could scream at that point. A wheezing sound rapidly exhausted itself from the gaping wound.

Part of me came back then, and I felt nausea wash me from the crown of my head to the ends of my toes in a temperature change that left me off center. The room was beginning to spin, and I could taste and feel the texture of his throat gripped tightly between my teeth. He had patted cologne along his neck earlier in the evening and still had a bit of stubble missed during his shaving. His blood poured from between his grasping fingers, spilling and pooling in his lap. Nausea led me to vomit, causing the piece of meat that was once the man's throat to fall to the red-and-cream rug beneath my jeweled heels with more blood than the flesh had provided.

I heard the click of a tongue; the dark figure had sat in a plush red velvet chair in the farthest corner of the room and watched the spectacle unfold. He was smiling at me. I still didn't have enough time to catch the details of his face; I only caught sight of his eyes as I turned and he spoke to me, "You exerted yourself, my dear, far too much too soon, but such promise!"

I hated him then.

I passed out before the guards were able to bust through the main door. I later found out the dark figure had swept me out of the doors leading to the balcony, doors that were closed and locked even after we left. Those men later reported the doors had been locked from the inside during their investigation of the appalling scene. Had they opened those doors the moment they had entered, they might have found the two remaining drops of blood that had absconded from my arm on our way out, but the gruesome scene they found themselves in was more than their minds could handle in that moment.

By the time they opened the balcony doors, the snow had turned to rain and washed away what little evidence there had been.

Four days later, I found out they had discovered the man stuffed halfway into the fireplace. Only his upper half, to be precise, along with what they had thought was my body. My family held my funeral the evening I awoke within the walls I came to consider home. My heart was no longer beating as a human but with the slow, nearly nonexistent pulse of a vampire.

#

WHEN I WAS still human I was attractive in a simplistic way. My ivory complexion had its imperfections, and my hair curled in the least amount of humidity, but I could bathe in the sunlight. I could bask in all the beauty there was to find of sunrise and sunset. I felt sweat beading down my neck and back as I worked in my family's bakery, daylight pouring in through the front windows. My hazel green eyes never changed color, and my hair was the darkest possible ash brown, and, while men were drawn to me then, it was not in the way they are now.

They desired me from their basic instincts and not from my aura as a vampire, with hair the color of midnight, thick and full and styled to my every thought. My eyes hold more of a green hue than hazel. The finest flecks of gold in my iris glimmer like stars, and the outer rim seems almost black, emphasizing the green and blue dancing finely in between, a subtle underlying tease. A finer eye would see the sparks of deep red, which is most often mistaken for a deeper brown. I am the only vampire to date to be blessed with these eyes. What I can see goes beyond conventional sight even for vampires, showing me what is to happen in the distant future, what has happened in the past, and what is at great distances of the physical. I do have limitations; I cannot control seeing a specific point in time.

My teeth glisten a pure white, the only white aside from that of my eyes that outshines my new, perfect alabaster complexion. The blush in my cheeks never wavers, and my once small and lightly tinted lips have become fuller, with an almost mauve color to them. The body I once had, with softened curves I thought could be trimmed down, is now designed for precision, speed, and allure. Oh, yes, I am beyond beautiful, with attributes no human could deny. I am physically perfect, irresistible.

Yet, all this beauty has an ugly side, another transition that takes place and distorts this beautiful body and face, one that I try my hardest to avoid at all times. Progression, as it is called, is something I have yet to experience as it mostly occurs in either the elder vampires or those who have been pushed beyond their mental limits. My experience has been limited to the lust, which I found in myself while torturing the one who changed me and making a meal of the one who was the catalyst for my inevitable demise. The one who envied me most from sheer jealousy and the other who had forced her hand were my introduction to the lust my body thirsted for. What was abnormal was this all occurred before my body could undergo the full transformation.

Lord Argenal ruled over the land where I lived, Vesuriel, and pressure was mounting for him to wed. What this truly meant was he was losing his chance to openly court a large number of women. He had been "courting" a woman, who had expected to be his future wife. He broke her heart, throwing her to the side when he discovered her gossiping expectations to be his wife. He still believed he could have any woman he so desired. Distraught, the jealous woman had turned away; embarrassed by the rumors tearing apart her family name and her reputation, she found herself in the arms of another man. His skin was darker, tanned but not from working any fields, exotic to match his bright blue eyes and brown hair, and that was how she was changed. In the arms of a demon, she sold her soul so she could disappear after she took her revenge.

Life is in love with irony, of that I am certain, and it allowed my perpetrators no reprieve.

Let me tell you the truth of the world. When you are the lord of a land or you hold any power over other people without check, you may do as you please, really. You rule the people and control their taxes, and the system of law is within your grasp to bend as freely as you like. Lord Argenal was just this type of man. He had fallen into the most primitive form of lust with me, a bakery shop-woman who held no real social status in court but was an educated widow of a knight. He beckoned me with kind words, quickly followed by commands accompanied by pleasant threats. In the end, to protect my family, I had no choice but to accept his extended invitation and enter the castle in the best gown available to me. While my mother was fretting over how to style my hair and which shoes to wear and reminding me to remember my manners and lady-like status, I was dreaming myself away to a place where I had freedom. Freedom, little did I know at the time, was already gone from my hands.

This was the last day my mother would see me alive, the last day I would be able to tell my father and two younger brothers that I loved them and would see them soon. I had asked them to tell my younger sister and two nieces that I would visit them once I was home from the lord's required audience. A coach was sent to my family's home, modest by the higher standards, with the banner of the lord's crest blazing into the puffing gray sky, a red background with a gold border and gold stitched gryphons. I felt more embarrassed than privileged by the display, never the way I had imagined as a child.

Little girls often dream of a prince or shining knight sweeping them off their feet, handsome and strong, and taking them away to a life of luxury foods, balls, and exquisite lifestyle. This was not what I felt when the coach pulled away from my home. I felt each pebble in the paved path to the castle through every part of my body, and though I hid my face, I looked out the carriage window between the red velvet curtains' gaps. The gown my mother had gotten for me was emerald green with black lace along the top that suctioned to my shoulders, and black jewels hung loosely about the gown's belled and bustled bottom. Thunder was rolling in as flashes of lightning assaulted the earth in the distance. Each time a rumbling wave drew nearer, causing the loosely boarded windows of some of the abandoned buildings to shudder, and at that moment, I saw my demise unwittingly. It was the precursor, the sign, of the end of my human life. It was a most beautiful night to die.

The death to my human life was dealt by a woman named Rose, with hair so blonde it shone nearly white and a pale complexion to match; her eyes were a deep set blue that reminded me of the sea, her lips a natural shade of coral. I recognized her from her strolls through the streets, picking new gowns with new hats and shoes to match, all in wonderful colors that brought out her magnificent traits. Rose had even stopped in the bakery just weeks before the lord had ended their courtship, picking out some of our best pastries for "the wedding" she believed would be happening within the next six months.

"These will do well enough, don't you think, Mother?" Rose had paused, her fingernail pressed lightly against the glass as she eyed the white, powdered delicacies, and flicked her eyes to mine, a quick and vicious smile crossing her face. "Yet perhaps we can find something more exotic than this. These seem a bit plain for the grand wedding Argenal and I will have. This bakery really is too simple, too common."

I remember ignoring her smug laughter as her mother trailed out behind the seafoam green gown, rambling about rings first and planning later. That was the cruelty of arrogance; it always seemed to come with money in grand style. Still, I had thought she was perfectly suited for a queen's lifestyle and far more beautiful than me in every aspect, which left me perplexed as to why the man who could have his pick of any beautiful woman would call on me.

"The gall of that snob! Not only claiming there to be a wedding to come, but to call Lord Argenal by his first name only! It's simply indecent." My mother had been kneading dough in the back with my sister as she iced cakes.

"The only thing that girl is aware of is her own reflection and what riding bareback truly means." My sister let the comment slip out with a smirk as our mother gasped and laughed in sheepish surprise before gaining composure to berate my sister for such crude remarks that no lady should speak. No matter how true.

He had had her. Yet that, as it turned out, was the precise problem.

My path to the castle led along the main streets of the village, a show and declaration that a new prospective "wife" was on her way to be "courted." Through one of the windows of an abandoned building, I spotted something that caused a chill and tingle of panic to curdle into my gut. Rose was standing with her arms folded across a peach-colored dress; a streak of lightning revealed her pale face, her lips a shade of red I had never known. I had wiped the image out of my mind as soon as it had entered. I summed it up to a trick of the lightning as my memories and concerns were tearing at my heart.

I remember, still so keenly, taking deep breaths as I closed my eyes and listened to the carriage transition from pebbles to smooth stone. The smell of snow and rain wetting the grass and fields flittered into the cabin with the blowing wind that found weaknesses in the carriage. I sat as still as I could, reminding myself to enter with all the manners befitting a proper lady: be pleasant and cordial, and leave as quickly as possible without endangering my loved ones or myself. Once I reached the grand castle, which was complete in its intimidating stature with paired gargoyles keeping a steady vigil upon gothic towers, I felt the string of uncertainty etching its way out from my heart. My breathing was unsteady, forcing me to concentrate harder.

I waited as the black carriage door was pulled open and a white gloved hand reached in to take my own. Compelling myself to be steady, I took the hand, made my way out head first, and peeked above me. Preparing to exit the carriage, I could see the gargoyles smiling at me as the banners danced between us in the winds of the storm cresting just over the castle's towers. The lightning was bringing the statues to life. From the gargoyles clinging to the ledges to the two marble female figures perched to either side of the grand entryway, all their eyes were watching me.

When the doors opened and I was ushered into the hallway, I was ready to be headed back home, somewhere familiar and warm. The entryway was breathtaking, grandiose in a way that left common-folk feeling entirely inadequate in every way. I felt my breath slip out between my lips. I hadn't noticed they were parted. I felt every edge of lace, every string in my dress biting into my skin along my flesh. Even before I had entered the castle, the details of the view were burning into my mind.

I was brought inside through oak double doors fastened with dark iron bolts and bracing, and though I had visited the looming castle before, the majority of times had been through the servant's entrance, in back. I knew the kitchen was three times larger than my family's bakery, and I had entered through that back entrance into the kitchen when they needed the freshest bread and pastries to be restocked. This was the same castle where I would be murdered in a most gruesome way by a man who had gone insane, as the rumors would say.

Exotic paintings were hanging from the walls on either side, and I took brief notice of colors more vibrant than I had ever imagined, but my attention was redirected and dedicated to taking each step in the tight heels with caution, pacing through my mind regarding proper introductions and, possibly, if necessary, pretending to faint.

I was being watched.

During that time, I was unaware of anything in the world except my fears. I could smell patchouli floating down the corridor while the one watching me silently from the shadows was enjoying my scent and gait.

He told me later that was when he knew he truly loved me.

#

IT HURTS TO watch the people you love die. I've experienced living several lives over as those dearest to me would pass away while I stayed young and vibrant. I recognized the day of my funeral as the day my mortal life had truly ended, and all the promise and hope of being with those I held dearest was over. There was no returning home as I had hoped, not the way I was planning.

Some things are still vital to my being, and sleep is one of them. I still dream; I still sleep in a bed and rest just as a human, though not as often, and my dreams are of being home again. They consist of waking in my bed before the dawn and preparing to bake fresh bread and desserts, hearing the tower clock in the center of the village sound every quarter hour, and counting down the time until the bakery downstairs opened and people would be stopping in.

My diet consisted of meats, fruits, and vegetables. Now, I find sustenance in the blood of other beings. It's warm and sweet, with a slight bitterness that tingles the senses in a hot, velvety rush. I can feel it spread throughout my entire network of veins and arteries, which makes the first taste the most invigorating. However, human has been on the menu on very few occasions. We have a code to abide by, and as much as humans fear us, they are actually one of the things we are restricted from feeding freely upon.

After my transition, I finally came to understand just how misguided were the beliefs about vampires I had held in my human life. The fear instilled of their being only bloodsucking, villainous murderers preying on weak humans, the feeble who had no chance of protecting themselves, was more than skewed. Well, some of it was true: humans are weak and have no chance of protecting themselves against us. A few rogue vampires, out on their own devouring whatever poor soul they come upon, live lives in shadows and attempted secrecy. Yet not all have the same affliction to light, and we are not the undead. We are the next step in evolution. Some of us still get to enjoy the light of day. A few brave vampires who decided they would end their eternal existence stepped into the dawn, only to find they were not vulnerable to light. I have yet to test this possible strength, as some of those who attempted it either lost fingers and hands or blew away with the sunrise entirely. Those who lost body parts spoke of the pain, an incineration more painful than the transition itself.

"You know the way it feels to be cut by a knife. Imagine that from your human life. Now imagine the cuts all over the area the sun has touched, covered in fire until it finally dissipates into ash." A male vampire who had lost his hand tried to explain it to me. "But the pain doesn't end there." His voice had been such a low whisper. "After the ashes have disappeared, there is nothing but an exposed wound that never truly heals, raw and open to the elements. Even after the wound is physically healed, you can still feel the pain. You would think the hand was trying to regenerate without ever knowing success."

I inquired no further after his explanation.

We have our fears; make no mistake. We, too, are afraid of death. Those who lost digits and limbs can attest to the sheer volume of pain they felt and still feel in the charred nubs.

Projection is another ability some have. Some of the brave few who came out with only a hand missing have been able to share the pain they felt and still feel with others, which has stopped many from taking the risk. I am still grateful to this day that the one I asked about the pain did not have this ability. His description was more than enough for me to consider the darkness my closest friend in this new life.

We have other special abilities. Some can even still bear children, but what those children become and the consequences of turning someone who is not bearing the sign are stories for another day. Oh yes, we bear a sign, those of us who are meant to be turned. Predestined is what Thedryk told me it was called.

Thedryk was the shadow in the room that evening, the one who brought me to this life.

It was a new experience to wake and not feel discomfort or pleasure. I was in between the two planes of feelings, a neutral gray area that did not waver one way or the other. I had thought I was paralyzed. The room in which I was resting had no light, but everything around me was lit by a special glow. I could find no source to the glow, a special spectrum of color that guided my eyes to take in the exquisite surroundings. An overwhelming mahogany poster bed wrapped in sheer curtains of ivory had a matching furniture set, a chair had a matching ottoman, and crown molding embedded across the cream-and-oatmeal painted walls helped fill the space and define the room. A large oil painting was hanging pleasantly on the far wall beyond where my feet ended on the bed. The picture was of an exotic garden, with colors so varied I could not define every single one. It hung a few inches alongside a curtain that ran ceiling to floor. I assumed at the time it was a window, but it was a set of double French doors which led out to a well-cared-for rose garden. An armoire sat in the corner, and a standing dresser and mirror to my left reflected the water basin sitting on the opposite wall next to the door.

The bedding set was burgundy lined with silver stitching and detailed in patterns of hollowed diamonds with flowers intertwining around the thick edges in gold thread. The bed, pillows, and comforter were all overstuffed with downy feathers; I smelled them and knew instantly what they were. I still remember how strange it was to me, to think I could smell and know as opposed to feel and know.

A soft knock came from the door to the right as a petite woman in maid's clothes peered through, candlelight leading the way. I could see the colors shift in the light, richer than ever before.

"Ma'am, may I enter?" Her voice was soft and sweet. The young woman, who seemed to be in her early twenties, looked at me with uncertainty, almost timidly. Large brown eyes and soft brown hair that curled out from under her cap were the most prominent features of her petite face. She had a small, narrow chin paired with a slight nose befitting a lady and slightly puckered lips shaded a soft pink. Her cheeks were warm, burning a pink that matched her lips.

"Of course." When I spoke, my voice cracked. I felt the dryness split down the back of my throat.

"Don't speak, ma'am," she said to me before turning halfway to speak to someone behind her.

I watched as she and two other women stepped in. One of the women, who was of a similar petite frame as the first, though younger in age, entered, carrying a tray with a pitcher and empty glass. The other woman was slightly older with a deep navy gown hanging over her arm and a basket on the other containing needle and thread. The younger girl smiled shyly while the other had the warmth of a mother.

"I'm Jessa, mum, I mean ma'am." Jessa, the first to enter the bedchamber, flustered a bit at her mistake. "And this is Muriel." She placed a hand on the small of the back of the youngest girl, who curtsied ever so politely. "And Agatha." Jessa used her free hand to indicate the older woman, who also curtsied and tipped her head.

"Neva." I nodded politely in kind to the women before me.

"We're here to get you cleaned up. Sir Thedryk desires you dressed and ready to begin your training immediately." Jessa paused. "After you've had your drink, of course. Muriel, please get the Lady Neva a drink, if you would so kindly."

"Yes, mum." Muriel blushed and rushed to correct herself and draw out the vowels. "I mean ma'am."

I watched the exchange, realizing their accents were quite different from what I had been accustomed to. Muriel poured me a glass of red wine as Jessa went to the basin to soak a sponge that had been stationed at its side and pulled the mobile cart to my bedside. I hadn't seen the wheels on the bottom from my place in the bed and wondered what else I might be missing. Muriel handed me the glass as Jessa stepped in her place and began folding back the comforter and sheets. The wine was thick and tart, taking me by surprise.

"What kind of wine is this? I have never had a wine so thick or rich in flavor!"

The ladies looked to one another momentarily before Jessa answered. "Sir Thedryk can tell you, ma'am. His special blend he makes himself."

"While I appreciate the help, I can clean and dress myself." Tension was building in my shoulders. It was awkward to be waited on in such a manner. I had always been self-sufficient throughout my life; being here would not change that.

"It is Sir Thedryk's orders that we handle this for you, mum, at least for this occasion." Jessa stepped away from the bedside and stood patiently with her hands clasped in one another. "You've been asleep for several days now, and surely you can feel your body is weak." Her head tilted a bit to one side, eyebrows furrowed slightly in concern.

I realized I had not moved from the bed and remembered thinking I must have been paralyzed. I had not sat upright when the ladies entered the room. I took a moment to consider my disposition and tried to sit upright, succeeding with some struggle. Then I worked to move my legs; they were weak. I was weak all over. Not unable to move or walk, but enough to know I would have some strife getting into any gown. Jessa took the cue to move forward as I nodded slowly in acceptance of the momentary defeat.

The women were swift in their work, coordinating efforts to clean me and helping me stand while switching me from the white cotton nightgown to dress. Agatha adjusted the dress with the skill of the finest tailor, while they reminded me to drink my wine until every last drop was drained from the pitcher. Within the half hour, I was fully dressed with hair half pinned, leaving my long, dark strands curling down to my waist. I marveled how no corset had been used; my body had always been nicely defined, but I felt taut beneath my skin. The dress was a deep navy lined with black lace along the neckline, emphasizing my décolletage, and black beads precariously hung about the skirt.

My skin had taken a milkier hue and seemed to shimmer beneath the light. I was flustered when seeing my reflection, a face so changed from the one I had known. It seemed thinner; my cheeks held a lovely rose tint, lips a budding rose red, and my eyes seemed to be perfectly lined with charcoal, even though no makeup had been applied as they dressed me. The curls in my hair were so smooth and buoyant, I was not entirely certain it was my hair.

When had they done my makeup? While I slept? Certainly, I knew that must have been the case, but what a risk to take. Glancing back to the bed, I examined the white sheets before returning my critical gaze to the mirror. I felt gently around my eyes, lashes full, but no smudges were produced when and where expected. I started as the stranger before me mimicked my motions.

I barely registered the women behind me with their mischievous smiles until Jessa took my left hand, pulling me towards the door. "Let's go, mum." She no longer corrected herself.

They led me through a maze of dark mahogany and stone hallways. Passing door upon door, I noticed different scents wafting out from the smallest of crevices to create a barrage to my sense of smell, even from the wood and stone itself. Voices and sounds trickled through cracks in the walls, from the floor below and above me, and light seemed to be pouring out from each as well. It struck me that I was seeing colors I had never seen before coming through as prismatic rainbows, often inverted. I felt the cool chill of the outside slipping in from somewhere as my skin prickled; the brush of the slightest breeze felt like grit being rubbed across my skin. These sensations intensified as we closed in on the intended room. I realized by the time we reached the door that Muriel and Agatha had, at some point, dropped off from our little group. Only Jessa remained, and I could tell from her expression and the dilation of her pupils that she too was anxious for what was to come from the imminent encounter.

My curiosity piqued as I recognized something familiar beyond the door. I felt the presence waiting just beyond, beckoning and wonderfully dark, yet it did not frighten me. Jessa lightly rapped on the door, holding her breath as she waited for the response.

"Come in." A deep voice resonated from behind the door.

What I had thought of Lord Argenal's halls was nothing in comparison to what lay behind the door with golden knobs. I could smell the earth: patchouli again but not overwhelming this time and what smelled of pine engulfed me as we entered the room. A tall, shadowed figure stood at the far end of the room by the fireplace where orange flames threw their light upon his white shirt, long sleeved with shining, black buttons that held the color captive to their core. A large pine table, stained to the same dark as the mahogany, separated us with chairs lining either side. Each end was host to a winged, cushioned chair, the deepest green of the woods. The fireplace was built from great stones and topped with a heavy mantle, oak stained dark to match its surroundings, and a mirror, perfectly framed in gold accents, filled the space above. The ceilings reached what I imagined to be the full second story level where two heavy chandeliers made from mahogany were clasped together firmly with dark iron; twelve large candles were lit in each, though their flames never showed proof of their life. The chains holding each were knotted on the wall opposite where I had entered, in between the middle of the five large windows that reminded me of being in a church.

A moment of longing returned, reminding me I was not home, and my heart reverberated the sentiment. I was vaguely aware of being guided inside the room towards the man who was speaking only in hushed murmurs. The table at the end near the fireplace was being set when I suddenly came back to my senses. The awe of the room was still captivating, though the man's presence was far more enticing. Long velvet curtains of the same deep green as the chairs were parted to the sides of each of the five windows on the distant wall; statues and pedestals stood between the other windows and their ends. The two statues were of white marbled women, loose gowns upon their figures looking too life-like for my comfort, and the pedestals at the outer ends each held the most intricately designed vase with ornate writing in gold upon them in a language I did not recognize. These items all welcomed the firelight, seeming hungry for any warmth that could be granted, and I resonated with their hunger.

I turned away from the gentleman without thought as he took his time reviewing whatever documents he held. The other wall revealed a painting that claimed its full wooden length, at least ten feet long and fourteen feet tall, depicting a place within a forest that offered a holy sanctuary with a mausoleum awaiting its future resident. The colors were a collage of soft and deep greens and blues; whites and creams teased, with hints of red and yellow flowers blossoming in a hidden corner. A long accent table, providing storage for items I could only imagine, sat equidistant between the first door I had entered and another at its opposite end in mirror image.

A warm set of hands rested softly upon my shoulders, pulling me back to the fact I was not alone in the room. Any servants who had been present were gone, and just myself and the stranger existed in this realm. It was a jarring realization that had me tear away and stumble backwards, but the man was faster than my clumsy, weak legs and caught me around my waist before I fell to the stone. He was nimble and adept and had me standing straight with the most graceful ease. I believed him unreal at that moment. My expression must have registered easily as he swiftly took a step back and straightened, smiling that wry smile I now know so well.

"Good evening, Lady Neva."

My heart beat in rapid succession. I recognized his voice.

"I am Sir Thedryk. Welcome to my home. I trust the ladies have been most accommodating to your needs and that what has been provided has not been too...presumptuous."

I found I could not answer, only take in the beautiful, dark creature before me. Sir Thedryk was a perfect height for a gentleman, easily six-one, if not a bit taller. His hair was the color of black seen on the most ominous crow, and his eyes were not as I expected. They were a deep green, matching the colors in the room, and his skin took me somewhat by surprise as well, as it seemed tanned. I could not have understood then why it truly struck me as odd, other than I had expected a man of the same creamy complexion as myself. Rationally, he would have been a man of some great status for such an estate as the one I had seen thus far, one who would handle the money and paperwork and not the field or stables. Perhaps I had been mistaken in my assumptions; perhaps he was not just a man of influence but also a knight of some kind.

"Who..." I fumbled my words. I had questions to organize, consider, and I felt there wasn't enough time to ask them. "Where am I? How do you know my name?" I hoped my family had offered a reward to find me; surely my mother would be beyond despair with her frantic ways, and this man could provide a logical explanation to current events.

The smile that crossed Sir Thedryk's face was alarming. He was a beautiful creature with perfect rows of white teeth. His crooked smirk worried me. It was too calm.

"You are in my home, thirty miles east of your town. Please, sit." He moved and motioned for me to sit as he pulled the winged chair back from the head of the table.

I obliged, feeling the weight of fatigue beginning to win me over, but I resisted the urge to eat immediately to retain some semblance of a proper upbringing. A wide, white bowl filled with steak, gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots, and green beans was set before me. A crystal goblet sat alongside filled with what appeared to be the same red wine as before.

"My estate falls along the Kerr Mountains and Artella Path. I know your name because," Thedryk took his seat, "I sought you out."

Breathing was no longer optional; it ceased for my body. Stark realization set in.

"You, you took me! It was you! But how?" The words rushed out of my mouth with the breath I had held hostage. I was gripping the chair arms and felt them giving way to my fingers; snapping sounds sprung forth.

Thedryk had been staring directly into my eyes the entire time, so intent and unrelenting. He did not look away as he carefully leaned forward and gently peeled my hands from the chair.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't ruin a family heirloom. This chair and nearly everything else within these walls has been passed down in my family for more generations than your kingdom has existed."

Anger, the powerful and dangerous emotion that it is, surfaced in the form of tears first, but I waited patiently.

"You are now of my kind, Neva. I have been watching you grow from your infancy. You, much unlike your younger sister and the rest of your family, bear the sign of those who are destined to transform. I had not thought I would have to take you quite yet, if at all, but it seems Zachariah had other plans for you."

I continued to stare. I clenched my mouth shut a moment before speaking as he watched me, his eyes never leaving mine. "This is impossible. How old are you?" I squinted, as though that would somehow bring everything else into a realistic perspective. "I don't understand what you mean by 'your kind.' I just want to go home."

The grim expression that made its way across Thedryk's face made my stomach churn.

"You can't go back, not yet at least." His face softened, a little. "It's not safe for you, and it would put your family in danger. It is believed you were murdered, and by all truth you were. You have also been away for too long. The people of your quaint little town would accuse you of murdering Lord Argenal, not to mention the woman who was roasting quite well in the fireplace. There was no way for you to escape, and they will be aware of that." He paused only a moment to watch my face pale visibly before continuing. "They would accuse you of witchcraft, or worse. Whatever in their minds worse could possibly be." He held his countenance firm, factual but otherwise unreadable of what might be going on underneath the surface.

"But I...you said I could be with my family again!" The words were expelled from my mouth before I verified it with my memory. "You said you would save me!" The memories struck me, winding me immediately as it all flooded back. I should be dead! Yet, I sat here before this man, this stranger who had offered to reunite me with my family.

"I said you would be able to see your family again, not be with them." His eyes momentarily reflected an inner struggle, as if knowing what was offered and what I felt had been implied were two different things.

With my left hand, I traced my fingers along my neck, feeling for what should have still been a slightly mangled mess of bite marks, but I felt nothing but smooth skin with only two marks where he had bitten into its predecessor. It was true enough, as I recalled; he had said I would be able to see them again, not be with them.

"Oh." I let out a soft, low moan that caused me to choke up. "Why didn't you just let me die?"

"Because I need you, Neva. We need you." He had taken my hands in his and was softly stroking my palms; it was meant to be soothing but only served to irritate my already jarred senses. "There is a war coming, and you are the key to victory. I am truly sorry I cannot reunite you with your family. If there were anything I could do, it would be just that."

I had been crying without realizing it, my face as hot as the tears that rolled down. "What war? What good could I do for a war?"

"I will tell you everything you wish to know, my lady, but first we must dine. You need to get your strength back, and we have much to prepare you for."

"You assume far too much if you have the slightest belief I will just go along with your plan because you..." Saved wasn't the word to use here, I knew. It felt more like entrapment. He had me cornered, knew I had no options, and took advantage of that fact.

"That does hurt."

I had become wrapped in my thoughts, not realizing I had clenched his right hand in mine. I looked to his hand; my nails were embedded in his skin with blood seeping out. A small, hysterical laugh escaped my mouth as I found trying to free my fingers was pointless; they were driven into his hand in such an odd manner. He took his spare hand and freed each of my fingers with care.

"Please, eat at the very least." He gestured towards the cooling food. Only a crystal goblet filled the space before him. He took the goblet in hand, drinking what he could in respectful amounts, and then returned the goblet while cleaning any possible signs of his indulgence before continuing. "Once you have heard all I have to share, you can decide what you wish to do. Know this, though; you can never be with your family again as you were before."

He was twisting that knife with ease, I believed. Hate was the foundation of the feelings I held for Thedryk, then.

#

WHAT HE TOLD me left me in worse shape than expected. He explained what he had made me, one of the things I had been taught to fear and hate. Vampire seemed unreal, absurd, evil. I was none of those things, yet, here I was, and I felt it was the truth; at least the part about being a vampire, that is. The rest of what he told me I knew would take time to process. The history of vampires had always been a blurred image, a story that was slightly different between each voice that carried it across to the next morbidly eager ear.

Stories I had heard all centered around one belief, however. The belief that vampires were born of the demons that had taken human women, but where and who the first originated from was left open to embellishment. The story Thedryk told me dated farther back than any stories people had shared and symbolized a vastly different reality than those of soulless killers seeking to enslave the human race. Vampires originated from one source, and the twelve followers, whom he called brothers and sisters, were granted with this power. Thedryk stated it was more than that, though. It was a necessary evolution: protectors being born from the one who had been given the free will to choose how to fight the corruption. Our world as we know it is not without its true evil. The Devil roams freely and knows human form in guise. The Devil's pupils are the specters that haunt many parts of this world, often found in the form of individuals such as Rose and Lord Argenal. No social status is required, but they often arise in those of higher hierarchical ranking as it comes with many benefits. They are all creatures of the darkness, so vampires were born for the night to fight the evil that knew the shadows best.

"You know of the blessed one, the savior, and the Order, but you only know of their human forms and the sacrifices they made in that life." Thedryk had finished his meal and was slowly working on his glass of wine, watching the fire with peace. "But they knew what must come and disappeared from your people. They became this." He lifted his glass of wine in reference to us both, as a toast. "And we are those chosen people. When I say you have the 'sign,' I mean your aura shines differently from a regular human. It's a warm light, golden, almost. Humans normally have a blue to green aura; some are closer to black depending on their hearts and souls. Ah, but those such as yourself are a rare sight, and the more golden the aura, the more prevalent the powers and the more significant, and influential, your life will be in the next."

As he continued from the history to the war, I wondered why I could see no such aura coming from him. How did he see it? The war was between vampires and demons, it seemed, but then it was not that simple. Vampires of his, no...our kind had turned against their true purpose. Those were the ones creating the negative image and horrifying stories about vampires draining bodies entirely, killing whole families at a time, and wiping out entire villages while accompanied by wolves. While these stories were not so common, they had happened enough throughout the years that the fear remained real.

"We do not need to drain a human's body to feed. We need only a small amount of blood to satisfy our bodies for long periods of time. As you may have noticed, you can also eat normal food, in minimal proportions, mind you. This will eventually become a luxury you will not be able to afford and sustain for much longer as your body adjusts to the changes, and the wine you are enjoying is not wine at all, but blood from deer in the forests surrounding us."

I was mid sip when he stated the obvious fact. I felt physically and mentally torn between wanting to spew the drink everywhere and the thirst inside me that demanded I drain every last drop from the crystal.

"If we did as the others have done, if the stories were as true as you have believed, the human race would not have been enslaved. It would have been eradicated."

His eyes were searching my face as I forced down the blood. While it tasted so good, the idea still repulsed me.

"Human blood," he continued when he was certain I was stable, "is not something we are to partake of. It's a forbidden fruit. Any blood will do. However, those who have become traitors to our cause believe it gives them enhanced strength and abilities."

"Have you seen it to be true?"

His eyes dropped a moment, searching the floor for the answer before returning to my face. "I cannot say. Everyone's power is different, and I do not know what deal has been made with the Devil. To say it is the human blood is not my place. It could be, or just a united front causing more damage."

"Have you tried?"

"To gain more strength or powers from drinking human blood? No, that is ludicrous."

I pursed my lips. "No, have you tried human blood before?"

"Ah." A faint smile crossed his lips for but a moment. "I have had human blood, yes, but not for food. Rather...for pleasure."

I blushed deeply a moment. Having been married ten years prior, though only briefly, I was not unaware of the interactions between a man and woman. I had also helped deliver two of my sister's children, and we shared all we knew between one another. His expression and tone told me more than I needed to inquire upon.

"How old are you? And, again, what good would I do in a war that has been waged since long before my family, or even my kingdom, existed?"

Another smile flashed briefly, a little huff sighed. "I am of the first. You are the key, so I believe, to gaining this war back in our favor. Mind you, this fight will never end, but right now the scales are tipped due to a particular traitor and loss of members of the Order." I could see pain etch into his face immediately with his words.

"Of the first, you mean of the Order? That would make you over 1200 years old..." Nausea rose from my stomach, an uneasy churn.

"Yes, you know the timeline at least." The faint smile curled back onto his face and didn't leave. "Proper diet and exercise have kept my good looks and physique over the years, wouldn't you agree?"

My crooked smile appeared. "I would say you've done well for such an old man." This comment warranted a full grin from Thedryk. "Now tell me, how is my involvement going to help shift this war?"

Still smiling, Thedryk leaned forward, setting the goblet on the table before clasping his hands together. "I don't know, not yet at least. I do know that you are very powerful. I want you to help us, to let me train you, meet the one who leads us. That would be most beneficial, I believe..."

Thedryk stood, mid-thought, and the door I had not entered through swung open. An older gentleman in his late thirties with dirty blond hair and brown, almond-shaped eyes came rushing in with Jessa following close behind. His hands clutched an opened message, crushed beneath his fingers with knuckles turning white.

"Sir." He stopped abruptly, nearly causing Jessa to run him over, and pausing a moment to take me in, he bit down on his lips and decided it was too important for formalities. "A message has arrived. It's happened again. Your presence is required immediately in the House."

"So fate comes to us, with no patience or allowance." Thedryk strode forward and took the letter from the man's open hand.

I could see callouses on the palms and scars on top; another scar traced from just above his right eyebrow and created a crescent down to his chin. The state of his clothes told me he had been riding recently, and the scruff of his face established he had not taken time to slow down, either. Looking back to Thedryk revealed a grimaced face.

"Collin, saddle up Bruno and Mereth. Jessa, prepare Lady Neva for the journey ahead."

"Yes sir," both responded in unison. Collin turned about and headed out the same door he had entered with Thedryk following. Jessa took me by the hand and led me back through the maze of hallways we had originally taken into the room. I worked on memorizing the turns this time, though I wasn't sure I would ever be returning.

"Agatha, Muriel, I need you both now," Jessa shouted as we passed through the house. I heard the shuffling of skirts, rattle of glass, and whispers behind doors as they opened and shut with hurried feet closing in behind us.

"Where are we going?" I inquired, hoping to get some insight as to what new location, possibly farther from my family, I might find myself in.

"The main house of the Order, ma'am. It's a two-day ride east of here, with the way Sir Thedryk travels, at least." Jessa was opening the door to my room as she answered. "Agatha, get her dressed for riding, Muriel, help me pack her quick bag."

I stood a moment, watching the women hurry. Agatha picked clothes out of the armoire to change me into as Muriel pulled a bag from under the bed and Jessa tossed some clothing in. At the dresser, she opened a jewelry box I had not noticed before and took out a matching set of earrings, ring, and necklace. My body fell back against the wall next to the door as everything discussed earlier began to sink in; shock was pulsing in my veins. My legs gave way, and I slid down the wall into a crumpled mess of beautiful taffeta gown.

"Will I ever see them again?" It was more of a rhetorical question, a realization that was setting in, but the women stopped their bustling about to turn sympathetic looks my way. Agatha had laid the clothes out and came to me first, wrapping her arms around me. Jessa nodded to Muriel to continue their work.

"We've all had to make such a sacrifice, mum, and I am truly sorry this is how things have turned out for you. That and to be rushed off in such a way is a bit much for any one person. But you're not alone in this. We'll all be here for you, in whatever way you need. Once you return, we'll tell you our stories, and you'll see. I know it's asking a lot, but trust us, at least for a little while, mum."

I was crying now; feeling that maternal embrace made me want to go home all the more. It was clear I could not return, ever. Yet I wasn't so sure staying here was the answer, either. To be dragged farther away from all I knew and loved felt unbearable in my heart. This was not an option, however desperate I felt the need to flee.

"Let's get you dressed, Lady Neva." Jessa was standing before me, bent over with hands extended, a handkerchief in one and the other open to help me. I accepted as graciously as I could. Agatha was at my left side helping to brace me and my weak legs, and Muriel had appeared to my right, assisting with equal care. They changed me as quickly as they could into a pair of riding pants, boots, a loose white shirt fitted around my waist and bust with a vest, and a coat atop. The jewelry Jessa had pulled from the case was beautiful but simple. Gold and emerald, it was marked with delicate leaves encapsulating each teardrop gem. The earrings swung freely from my ears. I noted how she placed the ring on my left hand, where a wedding band would go. It all fit perfectly, and to my slight disdain I found that was the only finger the ring would fit on. I considered not wearing it before Jessa read the thought on my face.

"You must wear this at all times, Lady Neva, for your protection. It is the symbol of this house and Lord Thedryk's protection." She seemed to be scolding me as she began dragging me out of the room again.

Muriel and Agatha followed once more, Muriel carrying the bag and Agatha locking the door behind us. This time, the women did not leave us as we passed through the hallways. When we reached the point where we had turned right to enter the dining hall, we instead veered left, which I found led to the front of the house. I realized the word "house" was too small of a definition; this was a castle. The entryway was open and grand in all respects, but I wasn't allowed time to marvel and gawk in the manner I was becoming accustomed to, as Jessa hurried me out the front doors to where Thedryk waited with the man, Collin, from before. Two horses stood passively at the base of the stairs, waiting for their riders. One was black, the same black as Thedryk's hair, and the other a grey that was truly silvered. They were breathtaking.

"We are ready to leave, then?" Thedryk directed his question to Jessa, sounding a bit irritated. She paused and handed me off to Agatha and Muriel, who continued to lead me down the stairs to the horses below. I could tell she was waiting until she felt I was clearly out of earshot, but my hearing could pick up the slightest shift in the breeze from miles away.

"Oh yes, sir," she replied curtly under the softest voice, "you just plucked her from imminent death at the hands of the most disgusting lord in all the nearby kingdoms, helped her kill the woman who was jealous beyond sanity, promised her to see her family again, and then completed it by telling her she cannot really 'see' them again, toss in the fact that she is now a vampire, oh and let's not forget! She's the savior to the vampire's war. Can't forget that tidbit, but yes sir, she is ready for travel."

My eyes doubled in size, but I kept my gaze forward, concentrating on making it down the stairs in one piece. I couldn't believe the way she brazenly spoke to him, but I was getting the feeling nothing would ever be normal in this life, in this new life, that is.

I heard laughter instead of anger, to my surprise. "You do have a way with words, Jessa, and you keep me in check, no doubt! Thank you for such swift work." The last part he seemed to whisper, and this time I did turn back to see Thedryk brush a kiss past her lips and place it gently on her cheek.

"Leave, get out of here now before I hurt you." Jessa was a mixture of emotions I could not place. Enraged? Embarrassed? Flustered was a definite, but I felt a part of my heart twist and beat in awkward response. Jessa shot a look back my way and immediately flashed a warming smile. "I'll see you again soon, Lady Neva."

By this time I had mounted the silvered horse and waited patiently for my escort, Lord Thedryk, as he mounted his. He had made quick succession of the steps and was up before I could fully register the distance and time. I had seen him, in every movement, but it seemed impossible.

"We'll be back in a week's time. Be sure to have the rooms ready for guests. Let's go, my Lady Neva." Thedryk smiled wryly at me, placed a hat upon my head, tied off the strings below my chin, and then spurred his horse on.

I hesitated only a moment, looking back at the castle behind me, trying to take a mental snapshot of the way it looked in that moment. It was dusk. The sun had just dipped behind the tree lines and mountains to the west; the front of the castle faced south and the lands were an impressive spread. Snow had begun to fall but not yet hold fast to its form. Everyone else was already heading in when I followed after Thedryk.

I wondered if I would see those faces again, if anyone or anything would ever be familiar to me again.

#

THE FIRST EXPANSE of our travel was filled with a mix of the sounds of distant storms unleashing pent up aggression and complete silence during our momentary reliefs from the ride. We rode the first full night with only two brief stops for the horses to rest before reaching a cottage tucked inside the woods. It was clear these were the standard stopping points along the well-worn path. Small stables stood in back, but the area surrounding the cottage and stables was well shaded from the sunlight.

Beams of gold were just beginning to lighten the early morning sky when we entered the cottage and shut the door behind us. Upon entering, I was surprised to find the cottage fully lit, with a fire blazing in the hearth immediately to our left. Two candles sat upon a table to our right in the dining area. I could smell food had already been prepared in the kitchen around the bend and see the places set at the table for the two of us. The "wine" sat in a cask in the center of the modest table.

"The room upstairs at the end of the hall, on the right, has already been prepared for you. There should be water in the basin and a hot bath drawn in the tub. It's the door before your room. Would you prefer to eat something or bathe first?" Thedryk, being patient and a gentleman, watched calmly as I took in more unfamiliar surroundings.

"I would like to wash up. Please do not feel inclined to wait for me if you wish to eat."

"I can, and will, wait, my Lady Neva." He offered a slight bow. "We will talk more over dinner. I will take this opportunity as well to wash up. It was unfortunate we had to leave on such short notice."

His eyes were piercing, playful and coy, but I knew beneath was something sharp, brilliant and wise, and raw. It felt as though I were in the room with a beast and nobody could keep me safe.

"You will find clothing within the drawers for tonight and tomorrow's departure, as well. Oh, and Neva, remember to wear the jewelry." The crooked smile was still on Thedryk's face as I turned towards the stairs to leave. I felt it.

I made my way upstairs with as much dignity as possible, making sure not to rush and show the panic I felt deep inside. It was odd to be riding next to a stranger who had both saved and ended my life, and the trip had given me time to consider the facts as they were. There was no going back home to my family, my previous life. What lay before me was a world and future no stretch of my human imagination could ever have conceived. I had committed myself to finding out what this future would bring and where I belonged in it. The past held just as many questions as the present.

My thoughts were a tornado of considerations as I made my way to find the room. It was modest, and everything was in order as Thedryk said. I opened the satchel Jessa and the others had packed for me, finding within it only items that were most precious to me, yet no clothing. Someone had gotten jewelry and other items from my home. The gold opal ring my father had given me for my birthday and a few of my favorite books, including my Bible. Other enclosed items caused memories to flood my crumbling sanity, remnants of my family chipping away at my fragile heart, and I clutched the bag close to my chest. I was not apt to cry, nor did I make much sound when I did. I slowly slunk to my knees, bit my lip, and quietly unleashed my sorrows and self-pity.

I listened to the clock on the dresser check off the time as the quiet crying transitioned to heaving in my chest. After waiting ten minutes, I worked on composing myself enough to stand and check the drawers. Clothes that appeared comparable to my size were waiting in them. I removed the original pin in my hair, allowing the rest to fall into place. The pin was long, golden, and adorned with opals of white and teal in the design of feathers; it was beautifully accented by diamonds that looked more like ice on their tips. A strange calm took over as I began to loosely pin my hair up, and upon taking what was needed, I made my way to the bathroom where, to my surprise, I found the water still hot in a porcelain tub.

All the essentials were present, in my favorite scents, which was a bit unnerving. I spent the next twenty minutes in luxury. After soaking in the tub for ten minutes, hunger found me, but I waited another ten before forcing myself up and out. I put the jewelry back on, including my family ring. I dressed in a white, lace nightgown that whisked the tops of my feet and a thick, burgundy housecoat of velvet atop that, cinching off the waist with a belt. I placed the folded clothes back in my room before making my way downstairs. I prepared for a meal with a stranger, one who knew me all too well.

For all the silence on the ride to the cottage, Thedryk made up for it over dinner. He spoke more than I asked questions, which refreshingly allowed me to eat and take in all he had to offer.

"Certainly you know of the Elysian War," he started by lightly prodding.

"Yes, everyone does." I watched him as I sat down in the chair opposite him. He had filled a bowl for me with pot roast; my glass was filled nearly to the brim, warm and red within. I noticed the table that had previously been set for two now held only my place setting and a drink sitting before Thedryk, his plate and utensils had been removed.

"What do you know of the war?" His query indicated the story of the war was bigger than I had been taught.

"The same as any good person who attends church." I split the meat easily with my spoon, continuing to splinter the pieces. "That a war was waged over our freedom, and the righteous men led a blessed woman to the mountains where she would give birth to the one who would sacrifice himself for our livelihood, per God's wish. The child grew into a young adult who would lead an army against the encroaching darkness, and win, but not without forfeiting his life. All those who had helped to raise the savior and protect the holy mother perished during the war in the final battle. In all his glory, the savior faced the leader of that darkness head on, each killing the other, but the leader of the darkness died first, making mankind the victor. God then swept away the fallen into Heaven where there is no death, but life everlasting."

Thedryk was nodding lightly, looking into his glass as he swirled the warm, red liquid within.

"That is almost entirely accurate." His eyes flashed to mine. "But no, that is not how the battle truly ended."

"That much you have made clear, and I have gathered," I responded, cautiously. "So will you tell me the truth, then?"

"I will tell you the truth as I know it, for I am but one of the twelve protectors, though I doubt any human would call me 'righteous' anymore." Thedryk let loose a brief, low exhale before continuing. "That war was between men and what can only be described as demons in sheep's clothing. A man rose swiftly to power; what he desired was nothing less than enslavement of all the people residing on this continent. The woman you spoke of bore his child." A greater sadness weighed upon Thedryk's face. "If you could do anything to save those you love, is there anything you wouldn't do? That is the burden we faced, and we chose the path that would be the longest and most arduous by far. I was still a young child when my family faithfully followed that woman; without question, they followed her." He stopped briefly; the atmosphere seemed to darken though the fire still blazed brightly.

"Watching everyone you had ever known die as you live on, never age, never feel the sunlight and its invigorating warmth can break the strongest of wills. My, how times have changed."

I was no longer eating my food. It was nothing I desired, and I was drinking from my glass only as second nature. The blood was still warm, and as I drank, I felt the warmth flooding through my veins. I felt the heat radiating off Thedryk as though it were flowing into me, and I watched him visibly pale. My eyes focused on his. I could see the forest in his eyes, fire burning in the distance with smoke billowing up into the night sky in rolling waves, silver light spilled across the land between the clouds and pillars of smoke. The smell of the fire was wafting my way, and I heard noises unfamiliar to me; inhuman shrieks and the screams of men were clashing from different directions. In that moment, I was somewhere else, distant and foreign, and people were dying all around me, but so was something else. Suddenly a feminine figure wrapped in black slid up next to me; her hair was so light blonde it was nearly white, and she had crystal blue eyes and pale skin. Her soft pink lips spoke to me, but I barely heard her words.

"Ahead" and "the others are not far" were the pieces I caught. I recognized a man's voice to my left as Thedryk's; he was much the same as he was sitting in front of me. His words were not as pleasant and soft as the woman's. She was Eliza, but how I knew her name did not bother me. Then we were in the open; we had been running, I realized, headed towards the epicenter of a battle. I knew that, too. The side of what had once been a mountain and forest was turned to a cemetery, a field stained with lost lives.

Bodies of all shapes and sizes decorated the newly formed landscape, the bodies of people from a village nearby. They had stood no chance against their enemy. Some of the enemy was amongst the remains, some dead, but most were making a meal of the mixed parts. Front and center stood the true enemy, what my heart recognized as the Devil. Fear cemented my feet, and I could not move. His eyes caught mine, and for a moment, I saw the reflection in his amber eyes was not my own. A youth of no more than sixteen stared back, with dark brown hair and the same crystal blue eyes as the woman next to me, but I was bound more tightly in black garb and this figure was just beginning to develop.

"They're all dead." The words came from my mouth. I could see and feel the motion, but the voice was sweeter, so much younger.

"Kareese, we cannot help them now. We need to wait for the others, just a few moments more." Thedryk was pleading with this other me. His hand grabbed my arm, and I felt the squeeze but no pain. This body had gone numb to physical pain. I felt shaking throughout the body, could see that shaking lend itself to the soil around and spread out like a tremor.

The Devil held me in his view. He was deceitfully handsome, almost too beautiful with his dark brown hair and dark skin, but that beauty was twisted and distorted by what lay beneath the skin. I could sense the malice rolling off his body in oppressive waves. He stood tall and taut, dressed in black with red runes marked on his chest, arms, and legs. His smile revealed teeth too white, seeming to glisten under what little light cascaded between the heavy cloud coverage.

I felt a chill in my skin as he smiled at me, lips widening, and then I was back in the cottage with Thedryk staring at me.

"Your eyes are too beautiful when you use your sight." Thedryk's voice was nearly a whisper as he spoke. His hands were holding mine. "What a terrible gift to be blessed with."

As he finished speaking, I realized he hadn't been whispering; my senses were slowly returning to me. I felt the coolness of the room, the warmth from the bowl before me. I could smell the blood in the glasses and could hear the wind rustling the trees outside as soft raindrops, longing to be snow, made impressions in the dirt. My senses were trickling back to me in waves, great wells rising and increasing in impact that left me dizzy. My surroundings warped, turning my stomach with it, and everything inside came rushing out. I turned away from Thedryk and the table, bracing one hand on my chair and the other the tableside, and released all the contents from the past twenty-four hours. While it wasn't much, it made for a most disturbing mess of partially digested beef, carrots, and blood.

"What was that you were saying?" I grabbed the cloth napkin from my lap and dabbed the general vicinity of my mouth. I was still leaning over the tableside, my other hand holding firmly to its frame so as not to fall into the mess. I felt the acids considering another round. "About my eyes being too beautiful?"

Tears stung my eyes as Thedryk came to my side and pulled my chair away from the table; my hand fell away weakly as he effortlessly lifted me. I couldn't withhold the slight chuckle that escaped, and his chest gave way to his own laugh with warmth radiating from beneath his shirt. Delirium had attached itself to me in those last moments I was awake, and more giggling came forth. I had no control of my own available to stop it.

"Yes, quite beautiful. Now let's get you cleaned up and into bed."

The dreams that came in that night-day were painful and bittersweet. My family had held a funeral, and an empty grave was defined only by a tombstone marking the territory. Flowers had been laid upon the undisturbed ground, and I felt all the grief they shared. What I saw in that dream will never leave me. The bakery was closed for nearly a week before reopening, and I felt the emptiness that had filled my place. My mother remained in back baking and preparing the breads and sweets, and my sister managed the customers and displays. She did a wonderful job in setting the displays and dealing with the customers. Yet at the end of each day I watched, the smile she wore without question, unwavering in her strength, dissipated once the door was locked and the lights out. Our mother would be long gone from the kitchen, and for at least an hour each evening, my sister mourned in her silent, resilient way by cleaning. On occasion, she would cry; other times, her vigorous scrubbing gave way to frantic motions in one spot. I was amazed the floor remained intact after her cleansing assault. Then she would head back to the sweet faces of her girls, kiss her husband, and eat as a family, and she finished every night by lying in the bed between her two angels, her saving grace. Her words were gentle while still providing firm reminders of how sisters held a unique bond as best friends and confidants, and to never take each other for granted.

My two brothers visited more often than before, became more engaged with our father, and took more time with our mother. The week in my dream turned into months, and then years, and I watched as my family grew stronger and closer. For all the pain the dream brought me, it also brought comfort. Marriages and children, their love and some loss intertwined their fate moving forward, and in it all came a peace I knew I could not see for certain, something that was just beyond the grasp of my abilities. The peace that was left unknown and invisible to my senses brought some fear to what had been fabricated peace.

My new mornings that are the twilight of the encroaching night hold a beauty I had not known to appreciate before. Watching the last slips of the warm sunlight delve below tree lines, mountains, and distant horizons opened my eyes to the blended colors I had missed from my youth. I only truly appreciated this beauty in childhood, when my sister and I would slip away between school and home to where the forest met the grain fields, where we wove floral crowns, touches of the gold wheat lightly accenting the pinks, purples, and greens. My sister and I could revel in these moments only briefly; we knew the night held dangers and always came too quickly, but when the sky was set ablaze by the fading sun fighting the coming night, we lived as queens in our world in between.

More memories swelled as I tossed and turned in the bed. Refusing to remove myself from that reverie, my heart throbbed with palpitations in its rise and peak with an ache that centered itself squarely within. The solitude and beauty we had sought as children was to be shared. It did not take long for some of the other children to follow us, in particular two boys close to our ages, one of whom married my sister. I regularly engaged the other boy in fencing matches that left switch marks across our legs and arms; he intended to become a revered knight so I would never need to raise another faux-sword again. I had found it difficult to believe the scrawny child, with ruffled dirty blond hair that reminded me of a wild squirrel's tail and shining, brown eyes, could be anyone's savior, let alone mine based upon the thrashing I frequently gave him. My skills exceeded his, thanks to my father's prior experience which he shared with all his children. My father had been a renowned fencing trainer but had retired from that life to enjoy his family and help my mother start her dream bakery.

During that time, the boy was an awkward-looking child; three years older than me, he was clumsy and not attractive in any particular manner. However, he grew into a more handsome man and became the knight he swore to become, to his family's honor. I saw the true beauty within him flourish.

What had made him so remarkable were his spirit, his drive and desire, the kindness that was met with moral obligation, and the laughter that seemed contagious and insatiable. We had married, my knight and I, but enjoyed our life together for only three months before war broke out in the neighboring kingdom and he was taken away, never to return. It was to be his time of glory, to prove his mettle to his kingdom and family, but when the men had returned home eight months later, tattered but victorious, he had not been with them. In all that time, we had little to no communication, so the discovery of my first loss was unbearable. Just two months after their departure I woke to the loss of the child I had been carrying. Six more months passed before I learned of my love's passing, but I constantly reminded myself I was not alone in such a loss. That was ten years past, and I never sought to remarry as a miscarriage and lost husband left me with no desire to build another life; my soul had departed with his and our unborn child. The only pleasure I had was in the stories that came back with the surviving men, retelling my knight's incredible bravery and sacrifice.

Yet, other stories intermingled with those glorious accounts, those of unnatural veins that had disturbed many of us to silent, morbid hopes that death had indeed been our loved ones' fate.

My night-dawn is always a jolt. My dreams seem to stop at the cusp of remembering those twisted, tortured tales that became bedtime stories to keep children indoors before the darkness staked its claim, whisking them away to never return. Waking from that particular dream was a painful reminder I had lived a life, one I sorely missed and could never get back to. This was when I began to realize that perhaps, all along, I had wanted to be taken away but had never considered the implications, the true meaning of what that could mean. Death was what I had expected, not rebirth to the night.

I slowly sat up, a headache gradually swelling to the surface of my skull with lingering nausea. Unable to tell if the pain was from the unshakable dreams or if losing most of my sustenance had left me in such a state, I forced myself out of the warmth of covers to find clothes had been laid out across a chair in the corner of the room. All of my other belongings had been packed and prepared for the trip ahead. Biting my bottom lip, I changed my clothes, while food smells from below crept in under the door and between the boards. A deep voice hummed in accompaniment; the humming pieced together a familiar song I had heard regularly in church, my mother's favorite as well as my own. I paused a moment in coordination with the humming, resuming once the notes lifted again from the set break. Rolling the borrowed clothes and placing them into the drawers, I grabbed the bag I had brought with me and made my way downstairs to find Thedryk already seated at the table. Eggs, bacon, toast, and what I suspected was a mug filled with fresh blood awaited me. I was biting my lip again, anxious and uncertain.

"Please, sit and eat, and enjoy this meal. We must leave shortly. This may be the last human meal you will have the chance to enjoy." Thedryk pulled the chair out and motioned for me to follow his directions. "We will reach our destination before the sun rises." His smile seemed forced, hesitant.

Cautiously, I broached the topic which had been a void thus far. "What aren't you telling me about our destination?"

A barely noticeable pause and curt smile caused my chest to tighten.

"A most welcoming group of unique individuals, from all walks of life, all times, in all lives. All will be prepared to meet you, the possible reincarnate. Of course, seeing those visions does not mean you are the reincarnate; I just strongly believe you are. I have a keen sense for these things, which is trusted by those waiting for us, so they, too, believe you are the reincarnate. This, however, will cause a shift in houses, which is why you have been asked to wear the insignia of my household."

I sat upright from my leaning position over my plate, eating while listening, starving from the loss of food just hours before. The jewelry I wore suddenly felt heavy and warm. "What do you mean, 'houses' and 'reincarnate'?"

"We are essentially broken down into factions, 'houses' that determine the different representatives of obligations to our cause. If you are what you are believed to be, one house would have more influence on the core council. The war is still waging; everyone has a stake in this claim and believes their answer is the best. Alliances are made in secrecy, as though unknown to the ears within the houses, which will determine the strategy moving forward. As for reincarnate, I mean the young savior of the Elysian War."

"Hold on, you believe I am the reincarnate, but this has not been substantiated. Who determines this truth? And if this is the truth how do these houses, or factions, tie-in? What do they mean to me?"

"You will need to decide upon which house you will align yourself with thus influencing our fates." Thedryk pulled a chain from beneath his shirt and lightly tapped a large emerald clasped within a gold ring. "Something to be aware of is each household holds its own jewel as a crest."

"And at this time I have no house of my own, no crest?"

"Already deciding you have not chosen my house, eh?" Thedryk grinned as his eyebrow quirked. "No need to answer that." He held his hand up cutting off my ensuing response. "I cannot answer whether or not you have your own house. If we speak frankly...well, first Eliza will need to determine if you are indeed the reincarnation of Kareese, our self-sacrificing savior. Once that is determined, it is something open for discussion with Eliza. Also, Eliza was Kareese's birth mother. She is said to be the wisest of us, the only one I would trust in determining the validity of my assumption."

"Not yourself?" My teasing was slight, but not unnoticed.

"I recognize you do not trust me, and I cannot blame you for that. I hope, with time, you will come to trust me."

"As Kareese did?"

Pain touched the corners of Thedryk's mouth; the muscles tightened ever so slightly across the façade of his face. "We should have left already. Finish your meal quickly, and we can talk more on the rest of the journey."

Before we departed, I looked back at the lodging, feeling a sense of longing to be back home more strongly than ever. "I'm sorry, Thedryk, if what I said was hurtful. It wasn't meant to be."

Thedryk had already tied off our bags and helped me mount my horse; dresses and horseback were not easily mastered for someone not accustomed to the actions. He mounted his horse, giving only a slight nod in response. We were off again, into the deepening night to further unknown lands.

#

THE REMAINDER OF the trip was beautiful, even though it was through the gloom of night with the moon shying behind clouds. I saw the landscape in untold colors and distance; I marveled at the sounds I heard of rivers, streams, and waterfalls in places beyond my new sight, accompanied by owls and crickets, rustling with deer's hooves dancing in the snow. Even more distant was the slumber a bear had nestled into, just recently I somehow knew, the breathing and heartbeat still working its way to a calm hibernation. Other animals were still awake and alive, alarmed by our presence even from such great distances; foxes and wolves shot away in the opposite direction of our path.

Snow had fallen more heavily the further east, or rather northeast, where we headed. The surface was cold, dirt freezing in place and breaking only beneath the weight of the horses and our bodies. I smelled the pine and cedar trees, holly growing without restriction, lakes freezing beneath the dark sky. Thedryk spoke, and I listened to him with as much care as I would have for any other background noise, but it was impossible to focus during this portion of our journey. Though Thedryk tried to firmly garner my attention solely on him once more, I heard a smile through his stern words and caught the inflections in his tone. Eventually he stopped trying and left me caught in the raptures of my heightened senses.

We stopped only once, veering off our path to a nearby lake. The sky had turned into charcoal patches, with moonlight streaming its beams upon the icy patches, and snow had blanketed the bank surrounding the lake. Nothing will be more pure to me than that night with the mountain range nearby and the thick of forest surrounding all sides.

Thedryk's eyes weighed heavily on me as the horses took their rest, drinking what water they could through labored breaths. "The choice we made to accept your sacrifice, though we believed best, right, and true, has left us in a state of limbo. Becoming the metaphorical light in the shadows was a cost more than some could bear. I suppose that came with not fully realizing the truth we inherited upon becoming the immortals you know as vampires. We could have taken our own lives, as some did, but most believe it a sin and we have too many of those relying on us as it stands. And we have not finished what we set out to do."

I watched him in wonder, feeling my heart heavy with the implications of his words. "Just what is it you have left to do? I have never heard of demons being present in my time. Are they still prevalent? And what difference will I make in this?"

"We believe you will save us from the eternity of night and restlessness or..."

His eyes searched across the lake, his seeking stilled as I heard footsteps shifting across the forest floor. The steps were muffled by the pockets of snow that had fallen between the branches in the direction he stared. His face became unreadable as I picked up the scent of something faint, almost familiar.

"It's time we make our way to our destination." Thedryk's face had become a dark mask; a grimace and subdued anger tightened his handsome features.

I couldn't move. The familiar scent had dissipated, but I was keenly aware it was important to remember, remember why it was familiar and what was to come. Only Thedryk calling my name in his deep, warm voice brought my attention back. I was standing at the lake's edge, icy stones beneath my feet. I had started to enter the lake, but Thedryk's voice sounded different, a gentle command I could not ignore nor defy. My eyes had been fixated on the other side of the lake, but I realized whoever had been watching from afar was gone, and I felt certain the distance between was growing rapidly. The fear that had budded ever so lightly remained as I backed away from the lake and turned towards Thedryk again; he had already mounted and was holding the reins to my mount.

He scanned my face with an uncertain expression. "Neva," he said as he offered his hand to help me remount.

The remainder of our trip was met at nearly full speed, and I wondered more than once if our horses would die before we reached the destination that I hoped held the answers I needed. We passed through two more villages before reaching our appointed destination, but I had seen it from miles away.

A castle beautiful in the most subtle of ways, tucked into the mountainside. Even in the shadows, its onyx and marble structure seemed to shine. A great ravine divided the mountainside castle from the flatlands peppered with farmlands; a large bridge covering the gap seemed almost ethereal. I heard the sheep and livestock, smelled the yield of the fields, and heard the families rustling from their sleep. We arrived just before the sun began to crest over the mountaintops; roosters nearby announced the cresting dawn with unreserved clarity that echoed off the stone surroundings.

I turned as we crossed the bridge to marvel at the sunlight as it broke over the mountain peaks and began to flood the farmlands below. Copses of trees were spread across the land in between; their ever-vibrant greens and stark branches seemed to grasp and lean into the warmth of the sun's rays, as the red of barns stood out brilliantly against the snow and trees. Yet Thedryk kept me in pace by taking my reins and guiding me into the gated entrance; never once speaking a word until we were fully inside and other people were surrounding us.

Everything in this life holds a great mystery of beauty, each experience unique, which Thedryk understood. Curious eyes watched me, gauged me, and tried to read my every feature. I heard their whispers, though they would be indecipherable to others, my new senses caught them all. Men and women alike, so many vampire faces of the most classic and captivating beauty and handsomeness, all held the edge of death in their eyes. Whether it was fear or desire that drove this look I was not sure, but I was not allowed much time to ascertain all their names and was instead rushed inside. Only three humans seemed to be staffed as part of the stables, and even that left me uneasy. If they knew, surely others nearby must know; were they so at ease with vampires that it did not matter? I had been taught to live in fear and awe of these powerful beings. Did they coexist? While my presence seemed to be making an impact, I saw no differences in the interactions between humans and vampires. I had never traveled so far from home; the world had been opened, and home was a place I could no longer claim.

My heart sank at the thought as I was guided inside; the doors before me were of a dark metal covered across its entire expanse by an ornate olive tree standing fourteen feet high and eight feet across. What I had considered grand at the castle of my hometown seemed dismal by comparison; gold laced the design of the leaves, branches, and trunk.

The doors made a slight clicking sound as they opened, but otherwise it was a smooth and silent procession. All other noise dissipated as we entered an area with nearly blinding light which overwhelmed my vision at first. As my sight adjusted, I was struck by what lay before me. A large chandelier hung above, fully lit, but no candles were burning. On the walls hung lit sconces, but not by candles. Rumors had spread of something of this nature, but they had been dismissed. Talk of it being witchcraft had made it a taboo subject. I felt unprepared at the faint hum from the light sources. The room was massive, rounded with multiple doors and a wide staircase directly ahead; the ceiling was open to the third floor. To my far right another metal door, with a shaft leading directly up from what I could see, was adorned in copper and brass scrolled with more olive leaves. The copper had aged, the patina providing a lovely accent.

I was trying my hardest to take in every detail. The flooring was a light beige that looked like glass, but through my shoes, I felt a grit that stopped my feet from sliding across the deceitfully smooth surface. Columns held up each of the levels, made of stone an even lighter color than that of the floor, speckled sparsely with brown flecks. The walls were a deep orange, with tactfully placed artwork. Furniture pieces of a deep walnut were placed throughout the area: a rounded table centered between us and the stairwell, a large vase placed in the center filled with calla lilies and yellow roses. The stairwell was made of a bone-white stone, with a deep red runner up the center of the stairs, patterned upon its edges with a cream design. I smelled the flowers, and lavender carried across in a breeze that came from above where we stood.

My eyes drew upwards again to the chandelier. It was gold, accented with crystals and diamonds, and while the design was entirely different, it brought back flashes of memories from my visit with Lord Argenal. Without moving, I turned my eyes towards Thedryk to my left; my breathing became shallower as the memories of my visit with Lord Argenal resurfaced with ease, and anger bled into my veins. His eyes looked down at me in return, eyebrows lowering and jaw tightening. I hadn't realized I was grinding my teeth; the feeling of betrayal was a weight pulling me down.

Thedryk's stare made me realize the tension in my body was prevalent, as others had apparently noticed. My tension was like a plague spreading out and touching everyone who stood with us, waiting for what I did not know. We had been standing in the entryway for only a few minutes, yet time seemed to be slowed, waiting for whatever was to come next.

Forcing myself to calm down, I tried to relax my muscles. I adjusted my shoulders, feeling them crack loudly. The sound of my bones and joints shifting and popping echoed in the expansive room, and I immediately felt my face redden in embarrassment, just in time for a sweet, melodic voice to clear the awkward horror that had settled into my unknown companions.

"You made it here much sooner than expected, Thedryk. I apologize for the wait." Almost directly before us stood the woman from my vision. White-blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, palest skin with the sweetest face. She appeared no older than the vision had presented, and her presence immediately put me at ease. I had the strangest urge to hug her, hold her tight as I would my mother, something I believed she must have sensed. She smiled softly at me as she approached me with her hands stretched outwards to my face, feeling the contours of my cheeks and chin. "You are Neva, correct?"

I hesitated briefly, stumbling a bit over my words. "Y-yes, yes ma'am." I felt humbled before the woman but found my words. "You are Eliza, I presume?"

The beautiful smile widened. "Yes, I am. I'm so pleased to meet you, Neva. While there is much we need to discuss, I would like to give you the opportunity to rest after such a long and arduous journey. You should have taken at least one more day to make this trip. I really am a bit shocked and disappointed Thedryk pushed you so hard, so soon after your...changing." She faltered, almost seeming to be hurt at the idea of my change. "Your rooms are currently being prepared. Would you like to wash up before dinner?"

I watched as Eliza tilted her head, ever so slightly, and the entourage which had accompanied her immediately stepped into motion, a person flanking me on either side.

"These will be your ladies in waiting to assist with your every need while you are a guest here."

It seemed this was the way things were in my new life, constantly moving, constantly being attended to by others. I wondered if I would ever have more than a moment to be alone. It was awkward; I preferred being self-sufficient to a certain degree, and this felt more like being monitored than assisted.

Still, I was raised to uphold the best of manners in all situations. "Thank you, Lady Eliza." I bowed my head slightly.

A cold, but comforting hand rested on my shoulder; Eliza regarded me directly. "I will see you in the dining hall shortly. We have much to discuss." Though her eyes were directly on mine, it seemed as though part of her was not entirely present. Some connection seemed to form as a wide spectrum of emotions washed over me briefly and then ended as quickly. "Thedryk."

With that, she departed, Thedryk following her without question. As they headed up the stairs, I was guided to the right, into the door just to the left of the metaled cage.

Behind the door was a bathroom with a large mirror framed with heavy wood accented in gilt; the walls were patterned with a deep red and warmer orange. The room contained a massive marbled sink with gold fixtures and heavy walnut base and a claw foot tub against the far wall. A door lay at the end of the room and another along the wall to its left. Light was pouring down from golden fixtures with glass globes turned upside down with no candles supplying the source of light yet again. A large picture depicted a field of yellow, red, and purple flowers surrounding a lone figure in the distance, her back turned while staring into the heart of a foreboding forest, mountains rising from behind and sunlight burning brightly above. A sense of longing strummed at my heart, a tickling sensation of familiarity.

"Miss?" A voice prodding from just to my left caught my attention, and I realized she had been calling to me since we had entered. I had completely ignored the two women in my presence once my eyes caught the picture.

I took a deep, steadying breath. "Yes, my apologies."

I turned to the ladies in waiting as one broke off and opened the door along the wall of the sink. She pulled out a dress, a pair of shoes, pins, and a brush; everything had been arranged well in advance of our arrival. They prepared me to be presentable for dinner.

Behind The Curtain

Eliza made herself comfortable, while still proper, on the cream sofa. This room was much brighter than the rest of the décor within the castle. The walls were a soft lilac; the furniture was white washed and accented with silver and crystal, and the chandelier exposing the elements of the room was made of brushed nickel with only crystal accents dangling precariously from curved and pointed tips. A fire was burning within a marbled fireplace; a black wrought-iron stand barred entry to its mouth, scrolling designs looping into more leaves from an olive tree and a peacock watching with fiery eyes.

"Is it your wish to disobey every possible decree set by the council?" Eliza's tone was soft, but severe. Her eyes were questioning Thedryk in more ways than one.

He grimaced at her expression, knowing he had caused her great stress for what he had chosen to do, yet...

"I had no choice. Someone," his emphasis was nearly an assault to the ears, "decided they too were going to completely ignore the council's orders. Remember, the grounds are neutral only within your grand castle, Eliza. Outside of here, outside of this realm, all is fair game. If I hadn't taken action, Neva would have died, and I did not believe we could afford to let that happen again."

Another man was leaning against the wall in a corner of the room, his long legs crossed with one foot pointed towards the floor. Only Eliza's eyes shifted, taking in the beauty of a man who smiled precociously as his bright blue eyes watched the present exchange in a bored demeanor. A sliver of his long brown hair, naturally curling ever so slightly, hung loosely around his face, the rest tied back neatly with a short black ribbon. His skin was nearly a warm cinnamon color in the firelight.

Eliza watched him. "Well, Zachariah, what have you to say?"

The man heaved an exaggerated sigh, making his disdain and boredom even more prevalent. "Are you trying to imply that I had a hand in dear Lady Neva's possible demise, Thedryk?" He rolled his eyes lazily towards Thedryk. "There is no such proof that I orchestrated such an event, that I can assure you."

"You turned that wretch of a woman and told her where and when to go." Thedryk was grinding his teeth. "Now, you tell me, what are the odds that she acted on her own? How is it you were in the same village as the woman we have been seeking for so long, the one we've been watching for so long? How is choosing to turn a woman with a jealous hatred towards that one not premeditation?" Thedryk had turned his body away from the fireplace, but his clenched fist rested on the mantle next to a large piece of driftwood. The sizeable mirror hung above seemed to be watching the exchange.

"All you have, my old friend, are assumptions, and we all know the old saying about making assumptions, don't we?" Zachariah seemed pleased with his teasing response.

Thedryk was upon the other man immediately, closing the gap of the room in a fraction of a second to grab Zachariah by his powder blue coat and white buttoned blouse and racking him up and against the wall. A growl escaped Thedryk.

"Thedryk." Eliza's voice was loud and firm from her spot on the sofa, a commanding tone he recognized and knew better than to ignore.

He pressed his weight and strength against Zachariah once more before dropping the man back to his feet. An amused smile spread across Zachariah's face.

"Are we not brothers of our time? Truly you give me too much credit for such devious plots." Zachariah cast Thedryk a sidelong glance, attempting to appear hurt.

"Enough." Eliza interceded again. "I will investigate these claims personally, and if I find any truth to what Thedryk has told me here, there will be reprimand."

"Of course, my dear." Zachariah was moving across the room to leave. He traced the back of his hand along Eliza's jaw, but she pulled away while keeping her eyes locked on his, a severe expression on her face. "Oh, now don't be so coy."

"You are excused, Zachariah," she responded flatly.

Another heave of a sigh and Zachariah flitted a bitter sneer at Thedryk before fully leaving the room. Thedryk stood just inches away from where he had pinned Zachariah to the wall, glaring at him. The silence between the two remaining in the room was overwhelming, a loud void that shouted as Thedryk held his breath, trying to hold in his anger.

Eliza watched him a bit longer before speaking again. "I believe you, Thedryk, but you know I cannot go around making my own decisions and rules."

Finally Thedryk exhaled, slowly, before taking another breath. "I know, Eliza, but now he's taking aggressive steps, and they are not easily understood. They are perplexing, almost as if he wants all our efforts to move on from this life to be impossible. He's dangerous, to all of us. He's not the same man you fell in love with." Thedryk fixed his gaze upon Eliza, pain clearly filling his heart. "He's not the same man I once called a brother in arms."

"None of us are as we were, Thedryk, and I..." Eliza's lips and eyebrows twitched. "I know. Yet these are still neutral grounds, and those rules are to never be broken. I will do my part if you will let me. Perhaps there is still a way to bring him back to the part of him that was with us, with God."

Thedryk was shaking his head at her words. "Do I honestly have any other choice here, other than to wait?"

A complacent expression fell across Eliza's face. "Speaking of, we still need to discuss Neva."

"Yes, we do."

"You firmly believe she's the one?"

"There is no doubt in my mind, but see for yourself."

Eliza nodded slowly. "Yes, I will. You may not want to be present for that..." She trailed off once more, as if she too were nervous of what was to come. "After dinner tonight, I will see her privately in my salon and find the truth for myself."

Outside the room, Zachariah waited patiently in the hallway, not trying to listen but being rather captivated by what he found. He stared at the portrait across from the room he had just exited; images of all the people he had known lined the hallway where space allowed. The image across from him was of Eliza. "Your beauty will never hold an equal for me," he whispered. A sad smile quirked his lips before he stood straight and headed towards the dining hall. Even as he left, he was certain those painted blue eyes were still following him.

#

WITHIN THE DINING hall awaited the longest table I had ever imagined, covered with all styles of decanters down the center. I smelled the slight coppery scent of blood ever so lightly mixed in fruited scents. People stood talking all around the room, but a hush fell as I entered. The taffeta dress I wore was a perfect fit, a purple so deep I wondered if the color was not truly black in some places. Lightly lined with diamond, the dress fit securely to my body to nearly my hips before the skirts flared out, layers ruffled, pinned, and seemingly teased. My hair was half pinned, curls cascading from all parts, and the jewelry was that which Thedryk had insisted I wear at all times. The emerald jewels paired lovely with the dress. In that moment, I knew what a caged bird felt like. I was a spectacle to behold, yet some fear was there as well, as if any free moment might grant me the ability to turn into a phoenix and burn the place down with everyone in it.

The first to be bold enough to address me was a woman, seemingly in her mid-thirties, in a grey-blue silk gown that hugged every curve of her perfect body. She had violet eyes, warm skin, and soft brown hair with honeyed highlights throughout. On her finger she wore a wedding band and engagement ring, both in gold; the engagement ring held an amethyst in its grasp. "Good evening, Lady Neva." She reached out and took my hands in her own. "I am Lady Piper. It is such a pleasure to meet you." The woman's smile was warm and genuine; she would have put me at ease almost entirely, had it not been for the other two dozen or so eyes watching our interaction with great intensity.

"Thank you," I responded in almost a whisper. I made an attempt to be more sociable. "Please, just call me Neva." I broke a half-hearted smile at her and watched a man step forward next to Lady Piper.

Lady Piper turned and faced the man, letting go of my hands as she placed her hands on his side and chest. He stood just barely taller than she, but his face was no less inviting and seemingly sincere. "Of course. Then you must call me Piper, and this is my husband, Jonah."

Jonah reached out and took my hand, kissing the top of it as a gentleman. "Pleased to meet you, Neva."

I was in a bit of awe, such manners I had not seen since my life as a married woman, when I had been part of active society. Jonah and the men were all handsome and the women equally beautiful. Were all vampires this beautiful, radiating physical perfection? Jonah had shorter trimmed hair, dirty blond, with deep brown eyes and warm skin. His eyes were somewhat guarded but kind.

He asked, "What do you think of your welcoming party?"

I was taken aback momentarily. My eyes shot around the room; everyone had resumed their conversations, and the groups were shifting as one image within a kaleidoscope. On occasion, glances would shift my way; the many conversations and voices were becoming a cacophony to my ears. I felt a glass being slid into my hand and heard the dulled words of someone telling me to concentrate as hands not my own helped my fingers wrap around the flute, directing me to take a drink, breathe slowly, and relax. I turned my eyes back to Piper's violet eyes, which held my gaze, and I concentrated on what she had said. I smelled the drink and the mix of the light perfumes filling the air around me. In such a short time, so many scents and odors had bombarded me, and I felt a sharp headache building behind my eyes.

Piper stepped away from Jonah and took my free hand, guiding me towards a seat at the table. I looked around once more, taking in all the people and the room in its grandeur. The number of guests seemed to have increased. The far wall had four sets of black velvet curtains barely opened, ceiling to floor. While direct sunlight had not begun to spill into the room, it did illuminate the area.

"I thought everyone avoided sunlight?" I breathed in deeply through my nose, trying to ease my stomach.

Piper had taken a seat, Jonah smoothly sliding the chair beneath her. "We do," she smiled, her voice sweet. "They will be closing those soon enough. We enjoy what we can, as we can. This is our sanctuary; all those you see here have contributed in some manner to secure this place for our comfort. Jonah, here," she motioned warmly to her husband standing just behind her, "found this location."

Jonah gave a polite nod to his credit. "I will leave you ladies to your talk." He excused himself before stepping back into the small crowd of people.

As I watched the undulating crowd, movement to the right caught my eye, out on the balcony just beyond the black. A shadow shifted and then entered. At first I thought the man with long brown hair and sharp blue eyes a human, but I recognized almost immediately he wasn't as he seemed. Piper turned to see what had fascinated me and caused the room to quiet some. With physical features that seemed impossibly perfect, the man turned his attention towards me, a wry smile crossing his face. I heard Piper suck her breath in sharply.

I looked to her, seeing tension throughout her soft silhouette. "How..."

"Neva, we finally meet!" The striking man leaned over, took my hand, and kissed it gently, but he did not move back immediately. He held my hand near his mouth as he spoke. I felt his breath warm on my hand, causing me to shudder. This particular man made me uneasy, made me want to pull away.

"I am Zachariah. I understand you met and discarded my latest addition to our lovely family. Yet that's how a family works, isn't it? Not all siblings get along." He pulled away slowly, taking his time to let his hand leave mine as he stood upright. "You either love them or just want to kill them." He flashed a large grin, fully armed teeth exposed in glistening white.

"Excuse me?"

"Rose, you met my darling Rose. I must apologize for her atrocious behavior." His deep voice seemed to resonate within the dining hall. "But I believe you already disciplined her. A bit much, don't you think? Death is never the answer I seek when punishing those who have been...bad." In a moment, he was no longer before me, but behind me, leaning over into my ear, his hands holding my shoulders gently. He whispered in a tone that was nothing less than provocative, "I would like to show you later how I like to discipline those who have been misbehaving. You were a married woman once, as I recall. Certainly you aren't unaccustomed..."

Life drained from me, embarrassment flared in my cheeks, and my mouth dropped slightly open in shock. Without thought, I found myself standing, hand raw, after I had carried it in full force across the man's face. My slap not only left my hand hurting but sent Zachariah skidding across the floor. Though still on his feet, the shock of the action left him stunned a moment before he began laughing. My skirt was still catching up to the sudden movement, spinning in the volatile motions, and I heard the material shifting across itself, scratching. A collective gasp came under that laughter. I had been partially tilted and bent in the motions, blinking a few times before I straightened from my shock.

"Well done, Neva! No one has ever dealt such a blow to me, so quickly that I could not catch it beforehand."

"I would have to disagree, Zachariah." Eliza's unmistakable voice cleared the center of the commotion. Where the rest of the guests had been pooled, Eliza stepped forward, only the sound of her footsteps carrying across the room and dancing off the walls.

"Uh-oh, I've made the mistress mad." Zachariah stood upright, cracked his neck the opposite direction of the slap I had given him, and walked calmly to Eliza.

"Mistress?" I lost my breath at that comment as I looked from Zachariah to Eliza, her chin still held high as she watched his approach.

"That's more than enough show for one evening. Everyone please, let us be seated," Eliza directed.

Everyone took their respective seats with a wave of murmurs breaking out slowly. Thedryk was only a few steps behind Eliza; shifting to the side opposite Zachariah, Thedryk headed directly for me while refusing to give the other man notice. I had not realized I was shaking until Thedryk stood in front of me, blocking everyone else out of my view. Piper stood to my side and placed a comforting hand on my arm before she departed and sat with her husband.

Thedryk took my hands in his, a small grin spreading across his face. "That's quite an arm you have there. I hope I never give you reason to offer me the same reproach."

I gave a shaky smile.

"Shall we?" He tugged lightly on my hands and guided me to my seat, pushing the chair under my legs until I fell more than sat into the chair.

Eliza remained standing at the head of the table, waiting for all to be seated before proceeding. "I want to thank you all for making haste in arriving on such short notice. While we still expect a few more to arrive in the next three days, please make yourselves comfortable. There is much to be discussed in the coming week, and no doubt there will be some tension. I ask that each of you keep in mind this is neutral ground, and everyone here is my guest. If you need anything, let the servants or myself know, and we will attend to those as we are able." Eliza lifted her goblet in my direction. "And let us welcome Neva. She is new to our family, so please make sure we give her a most welcoming introduction to it. I hope she will forgive the most recent." Eliza bowed her head, an earnest apology being presented in her speech to which I nodded in return.

Dinner proceeded with casual ease as conversations resumed and those nearest me made their introductions and warmest wishes. Seated at the opposite end of the table, I could not hear the exchange between Eliza and Zachariah, no matter how I focused, but I saw the reactions from all sides. Curt, direct, playful, angry, unsettled, all those seated near them were just as attuned to the small scene playing out, but it stopped after the first four seats down. No one else beyond that seemed to take note, or care, of the seeming argument unfolding.

Thedryk was mid discussion with Jonah and a man named Eli as I processed all the conversations filtering in around me. No one else, aside from Piper, dared to address me directly. Only their eyes and words amongst each other indicated any interest.

The dinner was a peaceful occasion; bursts of laughter would rise and swell and fall back down as stories and jokes were shared. I watched the many faces, beautifully masked, share part of themselves openly. Once the dinner concluded, everyone dispersed to different groups in the room once more, and shortly after, the doors behind Eliza's seat were opened. A ballroom waited beyond where a string quartet had begun playing; everyone filtered into the room. The music was alluring, and I smelled sweets and delicacies, the most precious floral scents. As I entered at the tail end of the group, I was surprised to find the room already filled with other vampires, and many humans, both servants and guests. I stopped just within the door; the room was massive, high ceilings with two large chandeliers of gold and crystal, a mural painted on the ceiling of the open sky, roses of yellow and white twined around the edges, wisteria and honeysuckle braided in between. Green vines reached out to the medallions encircling each of the chandelier's bases. The wall panels each held murals alternating between images of various gardens, outlined by gilt molding. Multiple tables lined the walls with cream cloths which held silver tiered trays with desserts, light snacks, and multiple decanters of wine and empty glasses. A multitude of chairs and small sofas filled the rest of the wall space, many having already been taken. One wall was free from tables and chairs, on the same side as in the dining hall, and was covered with black velvet curtains; only the gilt walls in between indicated the division.

I stepped farther into the room, seeing pairs spread out across the ballroom floor, beginning to dance. The music echoed within the room. I bit my lip, nervous and unsure. Too many people, human and vampire, were around, too many scents and sounds. A warm hand pressed gently against my back as another took up my left hand. I looked to find Thedryk at my side, smiling warmly down at me.

"Shall we?" He left no room for response as he walked me farther onto the floor and swept me around.

"I don't know many dances," I faltered.

"Just follow my lead." His smile deepened.

"Thedryk, how is all of this possible?"

"Things are very different for you here, aren't they?" The room was spinning around me, but I could still easily make out individual faces and expressions, catching words and phrases through the music and movement. "Here is our sanctuary."

"The 'neutral grounds' as Eliza called it?"

"Yes."

"Is that why humans are so at ease in a room filled with vampires?" He spun me around once, twice, before pulling me back in.

"Yes, it is one reason. Yet our purpose in this life was never to live at odds with humans. We, in essence, are humans, so we had always lived in peace with humans and aimed to build relationships."

"So why has fear been so widespread elsewhere?"

"Not all shared the vision and purpose; this change in our lives did not transition as well with others. Only those of a certain mental aptitude can truly become a full-fledged vampire, dedicated to protecting the human race." He swept me across the floor in another twirl, my skirts sashaying with the motions. He spun me, holding me momentarily at bay before drawing me back in. He was easy to follow, completely in step.

I breathed in deeply, feeling the stitching press into my skin. "What happens to those who are not...capable?"

"They are a defilement to our kind, killing humans at their leisure. Some know no boundaries. Those must be dispatched immediately, and those who have instigated the change without approval must be reprimanded."

"Did you have approval to change me, Thedryk?"

"No more talk about these matters." He pulled my body close, pressing me tightly against him as the floor steadily filled with more couples. He leaned in close, whispering into my ear, "There is more time ahead of us to speak."

Anxiety filled me. Nearly every part of his body was touching mine, and I was not unaware of the heat radiating between us, which I felt inexplicably drawn towards. The song ended, giving me reason to put some distance between us. I stood staring at Thedryk, offering only the slightest curtsy before I stepped away, heading towards the doors on the far wall.

I needed space, air, room to breathe, but enough eyes were on me and I held my resolve to exit with the most grace I could muster. Suddenly, without any indication of approach, Eliza appeared by my side. She locked our arms together and guided me out of the room without uttering a sound.

As we exited through a set of large double doors, the silence between us remained until the dining hall was sealed off behind us. We were on the second floor landing of the stairs, which branched off to either side. As Eliza led and I followed, we headed right.

She broke the silence. "It's unfair, for you."

"What do you mean?"

"We have been watching you for so long. The plan was to let you live out a mortal life, yet again." Eliza's eyes were sad, but her expression remained stoic, chin up, proud as any queen.

"How long have you been watching me?"

"From the time you were born."

I slowed my steps at her words. "That's...impossible." I spoke the words, but the truth was in my heart.

"No, not at all. Thedryk is entirely capable of finding our kind, those who are destined to be part of our family. When it comes to you, though, you are the one we have been seeking for so long, so once he found you, he never left keeping watch over you but on a few required occasions. This has been the case with each and every one of your reincarnations."

We had entered a long hallway. I blushed at the implications. He was always there? "I am not sure how to feel about that."

"How do you mean?"

"It's rather...unsettling?"

Eliza stopped immediately, a look of surprise on her face before she began laughing. "I suppose it must be for you." She patted my arm with her free hand. "But try not to hold it against him. For the most part, it was a direct order for him to follow."

I angled an awkward glance at Eliza. She seemed to be completely at ease, no hesitation, no fear. "Who gave the order?"

"I did, with the Council's support."

We entered a room that seemed to have little light available from the chandelier aside from that of the hallway light pouring in and fire burning in the hearth. Eliza let go of my arm, closing the door behind us, and took her place in a seat at the center of the room. As my eyes adjusted with ease I was able to see the walls were a dark blue. The ceiling displayed another mural, this one of the night sky that seemed to glow as the stars themselves would. I wondered if I would ever cease to be amazed at the beauty and wonder of this place. Eliza was resting her chin along her fist, watching me calmly. Taking the seat opposite her, I knew it was time to learn what I could.

Our evening exchange left me utterly exhausted. Eliza had much to share about the Order becoming the present Council, what had happened that fateful day I had seen through another's eyes, and the reincarnations that followed.

Though I felt wearied by all that had been shared, I knew there were more answers to be sought. My eyes drifted to familiar items and those that were new to me, such as the lights that were dimmed but never flickered. "There are so many different curiosities here I have never seen before, have never heard of before coming here."

"Yes, I imagine you would be confused by all of our technological advances. The elevator, indoor plumbing," Eliza prattled off a list of items, but I interrupted her.

"Elevator? Indoor plumbing?"

Eliza quirked a quick smile. "I'm sure you understand vampires have special abilities." She waited for my nod of affirmation. "Well, one allows us to advance our world in a much more efficient time than it would naturally. However, right now, this is the last conversation we need to be holding. There are more pressing matters you need to understand."

Indeed, what she claimed was true. Betrayal was tearing apart the Council, but all members were needed if they ever intended to be set free from their endless nights.

"Zachariah, he's your husband?"

"Yes, and the--" Eliza's voice betrayed her composed demeanor for a moment "--purported traitor. I loved him once with every possible fiber of my being. That was my sin."

"To love him was a sin? That's not right."

"I loved him above all else at one time, and yes, it was the greatest sin. To lose yourself in another is both wonderful and monstrous." She was different here, open and vulnerable.

"If you believe he's the traitor, why is he roaming freely?"

Eliza unpinned her hair, letting it fall down in loose curls. Her eyes appeared violet while reflecting the fire as she sighed in response. "I can make no moves against him without the Council's unanimous support." Her pale skin seemed to soak in the warmth, absorbing it. "At this point I cannot fully verify his actions. So far, he has only skirted around what he's done, never directly responsible. He is quite adept at this skill."

"The Council, you said they essentially replaced the Order, though you have remained the head, so how long have they held their positions? Do you fully trust them? It would seem to stand to reason that if they are as neutral in their decisions as you say then they, too, would see the obvious truth."

"They have been thoroughly vetted and proven of their neutrality."

"That's not what I asked."

Eliza looked to the fire once more. "They have been since our change. If I were to doubt them now, too many decisions would come into question. Anyway, this is not the real purpose of our private meeting."

"Then why are we here?"

"I have to ascertain the truth of what you are. So far our belief has only been an assumption and Thedryk's intuition. When we originally planned on bringing you in to verify your identity, we did not anticipate you marrying so quickly. You married." Eliza let out a small, crazed laugh. "And became pregnant. I decided, and forced the Council's hand, to leave you in a mortal life, to have and raise a family. Even with what followed of losing your child and husband, I was determined to let you remain in your human life. Obviously, the plan did not go as expected with Thedryk's...intervention. Now, come here." Eliza sat up straight before leaning forward.

I reciprocated the action, hesitantly, as Eliza placed her cool hands on either side of my face and looked directly into my eyes. Her clear, blue eyes glimmered and turned to a brilliant golden-yellow as she searched my soul. It felt like sunlight and ice were pouring across every pore of my body, through my veins to the core of my heart and ending in my mind. The memories she sifted through were of my human life, and those beyond. At the same time, I heard her thoughts; for a moment, our souls were in sync and her emotions flooded my own. We became a whirlpool of two souls where everything was drawn to the center, and I feared being drowned by their depths. I was reminded of my change, and just as I felt the fear spilling over into reality, I was staring back into those crystal blue eyes pouring out tears.

Eliza blinked them away while breathing in a deep, sharp breath she pulled back against the chair hard. For a long while after that, she didn't say a word, did not blink, nor did she move. She sat tensely, staring at me.

"How terrible, so many lives." Eliza lifted a shaking hand to her face. "From the very beginning to now. We thought we knew of all the lives you have lived, but that's not the case."

"I know your memories." My voice quavered.

Eliza looked down into her lap, and her shoulders heaved a tiny bit. "You should go rest, Neva. We shall discuss more tomorrow. The maid will guide you to your room." At that, Eliza raised the hand she had previously been holding to her face up above her head, fingers extended. The door opened and in stepped a young vampire, hair a deep red, her eyes so dark a brown they seemed almost black.

I left, without a word in response. The young woman did not speak, only walked ahead of me not making any sound. She brought me back to the balcony of the second floor encompassing the entryway and across the way to the hall opposite. As we passed through, I realized no more music came from the ballroom; the doors were fully open and no one was left. All had been cleared out.

Down the next hallway, she led and I followed. I heard sounds throughout the castle, but there was more silence than anything else. We stopped at the second to last door at the end of the hall; the young woman opened the door without a word and waited for me to enter. The room was large, with two other doors within as well, one across the way, and the other at the end of the wall to my right. Large furniture filled the room, which was cool and dark, with the lights low. The young woman took my hand in hers and placed it along a switch that lowered and raised the brightness of the lights. After placing the switch back to the original setting, she crossed the room and opened the door on the wall across the way, revealing a private bathroom. As I watched her, I noticed a long, sleeveless nightgown had already been laid out on the bed for me.

"Do not open the curtains in the bathroom." With that, the young woman took her leave without another word, bowing before she left me alone in my private quarters. Lavishly overwhelming, the never-ending theme to my new life.

#

I DID NOT immediately go to bed. Instead, while prepping for the much-needed rest, I found the restlessness in my nerves demanded my undivided attention and kept me moving. Clothes in hand, I headed to the bathroom. The room was engulfed in white marble, and dark cabinetry outlined the vanity with a large mirror as the backdrop. To my left was another door, behind which was the water closet, and to my right was the claw foot tub. A towel had been placed on a bench next to the tub, and a long, dusk-rose robe hung from a hook to the right of the tub. Neatly organized upon the vanity to the left of the sink were perfumes, lotions, soaps, brushes, a mirror, and jewelry I did not recognize, while the right side held hand towels and washcloths primly stacked. Though I knew the stones to be that of the same my father had gotten me, I was uncertain where they came from or whom they belonged to. My fingertips grazed across the stones gently, and I felt myself slip away from the room.

"Oh, no." The words were but a whisper as another place and time surrounded me in all my senses. The room had changed into the large ballroom downstairs, and I saw Eliza seated by the open windows, laying cards on a table, curtains drawn back and moonlight flooding in a pool surrounding her. Someone was speaking in the background, and as I turned to see who was in Eliza's company, Zachariah passed through me. My body shifted in his wake, and he visually shuddered, turning to where I stood and stopping his one-sided conversation momentarily to see what had caused the disturbance.

As he approached Eliza, he softened his voice. "Do you honestly believe me capable of such a terrible slight against our reborn savior?"

Eliza pursed her lips, her white-blonde curls bouncing playfully as she tilted her head down at the cards and cast a frown in response. "I will not engage in this conversation with you, Zachariah. Wisdom speaks here. This could bring more harm than do good." She placed another card down on the table, seeming to dissect it under her vision.

"You're just afraid." Zachariah spoke the words calmly, in a somber manner before grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. "Well I'm not, and there is nothing in Heaven, nor on Earth, that can be done to stop fate from playing its hand, my most beloved mistress."

I had made my way around them, watching the interaction and wondering when this had taken place. I saw the snide expression on his face and tears brimming in Eliza's eyes, looking as diamonds in the moonlight.

"You speak of fear too well. Perhaps you are too well acquainted with it yourself, my love." Eliza's voice wavered slightly as she spoke.

Zachariah clenched her chin a bit harder as he leered at her. Eliza made no sound as he forced a kiss upon her and then broke away impulsively, a rough gesture that left her skin reddened.

"Make no mistake." The words were becoming distant, but I heard the cold underlying his tone. "She will..." and then I was back, an immediate transition as I blinked my eyes.

Nausea tickled at the core of my stomach, but I held it within, breathing slowly and deeply, in and out through my nose until the feeling subsided. I pulled my hands back from the opals and gold and carefully stood before making my way to the bath and running the hottest water the pipes could muster.

Glass jars lined shelving just behind the head of the tub, opposite the curtained section of wall. A wooden mat rested at the foot of the tub, smooth and comfortably curved. I perused the jars momentarily, smelling the lavender, rose, vanilla, and ginger scents that rose with their lids, the crystals within seeming to hum with the glass containers. A wooden ladle lay at the bottom row, just long enough to be dipped inside the jars. Guided by a yearning inside me, I carefully took the ladle and stood directly next to the curtain. Pressing against the wall, I used the ladle to push the edge of the window curtain back ever so slightly.

A fading beam of light shot into the room, desperate to relieve me of the darkness. It was blinding, brilliant on the white marble. I held the ladle in place as I forced my eyes to open and take in the beauty of the light; it reminded me of being a child and staring directly into the sun for a few seconds. That moment made it clear sunlight was a luxury I could no longer afford. Even the slightest beam from the sun could burn away my flesh. I finally let the curtain fall back, feeling tears slipping down my cheeks. When I looked down again, I saw they were not tears, but blood.

After cleaning the mess from my bloodied tears and blistered arm, I soaked in the bath with the lavender releasing to my pores. I slipped peacefully beneath the water's surface, holding my breath and submitting myself to the calm. I ran my hands through my hair from the roots, pulling it back behind my shoulders as I slid back upright. Through the windows, I heard the world outside moving on in its continual fashion. Miles away from my window, farmers were tending to their livestock; families were preparing their dinner meals. It was late, but I heard nothing within the castle walls. Only a clock ticking, which, based upon the direction of the sound, was resting in my current quarters.

For one full hour I rested in the bath until it cooled considerably. Then, mustering what little strength I had left, I drained the tub, dressed in the provided gown and robe, wrapped my hair in the large white towel, and tested out the different perfumes and lotions on the vanity. As I spread lotion along my arms to my elbows, I became keenly aware of a presence; someone was too near, and I realized I heard the barely beating heart from within my bedchamber. Thedryk waited on the other side of the door.

"I'll be out in a moment." I spoke softly, knowing he would hear me as though his ear were placed before my very lips.

The reflection in the mirror showed an awkward perfection. My complexion held a great contrast of pale skin, pink cheeks, red lips, full and long eyelashes, and smooth eyebrows. When the towel was removed, my long hair fell down around my waist, loose and free and nearly dry to my surprise. An edge of hesitation kept me in place a moment longer than I anticipated, but I forced myself to move and face Thedryk directly. I still had many questions that never seemed to have enough time to get answered.

Checking my decency in the long gown and robe before exiting, I felt a nervousness that I had not experienced in many years. Burying the feeling deep down, I placed my hand on the knob, turned it, and opened the door to find a lamp lit next to the bed with Thedryk slouching in the chair, apparently fast asleep. Seeing him asleep in the chair made me realize my exhaustion had caught up with me. Feeling defeated, I switched off the light behind me and closed the door to the bathroom. I opened the armoire to find blankets within drawers at its bottom and laid one upon Thedryk. Bitterness still stirred within me, remembering the false hope he had given me; no matter the good intention, it was selfish.

"Tomorrow it is, then," I whispered, partially believing he was well aware of my presence.

"Karee..." He stirred only slightly, but the name slipped out all the same, and his hand reached out and grabbed my wrist, gentle but firm.

His touch felt like pure energy coursing through my veins, and memories surged into my mind. I had remembered but a few pieces from previous lives, previous memories of seeing Thedryk at different times. My mouth opened slightly as the memories burned my heart and mind, revealing different eras I had lived; Thedryk had been either an image in those memories or actively engaging my different selves. In each memory, those eyes, always trying to be hard and unyielding, could not hide the sadness that emanated between our souls. I wrenched away just as others surfaced from the first life: Eliza so loving, even Zachariah was joyous and pure, and Thedryk's was the last face I saw before stumbling backwards, tripping on the ornate rug.

Thedryk had me in his arms before I fell across the floor. His eyes were sharp upon my face, desperate and searching, his expression slightly startled. "Are you all right?"

Flinching slightly at his question, I could only nod. A moment in that last memory tied back to all the others. It was more frightening than reassuring, leaving my body rigid in his arms. He stood, pulling me against his body as he did so.

"I..." I began to protest. "I can stand. I'm fine, Thedryk." I felt a blush burn into my already pink cheeks as I looked away, my voice hoarse and brusque.

Thedryk's chest gave a light jump in a scoff, and I dared a peek at his face to see a small, wry smile quirk across his lips.

"So different, but still very much the same," was his only remark as he picked me up and carried me to my bed, laying me down upon the waiting sheets.

For a moment, he faltered as he remained bent over my body, his face mere inches from my own. I felt his warm breath softly exhale upon my skin and breathe in again.

"I'm sorry I didn't change you sooner. It was wrong, and for things to have gone as they have is entirely unfair to you." He freed his arms from under my body, softly stroked a finger along my cheek, and then stood straight, pulling the covers across me as he did so before he turned and left.

For a moment, I could only lie there in confusion before realizing I had been holding my breath. I let the air out of my lungs and dared to move freely. Turning violently, I snatched a spare pillow and crushed it to my chest, holding onto it as though it were saving me from drowning in my confusion. Turning my face towards the pillow, I bit down, trying to suppress the scream that so desperately wanted to be released and only allowing a sharp exhale that my heart would have to accept in its stead.

#

WHAT I DREAMED was not dreams, but fragmented memories of the past lives that I began to relive. My fates had been cruel and unrelenting, some much shorter lives than others, and a rare few that lasted to an elderly age filled with children, grandchildren, love, and laughter. My heart broke, healed, and broke again with each I revisited. Thedryk had not missed a single life I lived. The first was the most vibrant. To know can be so much worse than the unknown. To know is to experience, and once lost one cannot return to that moment and cherish it duly; some experiences can never be regained. The unknowns at least save the pain of having the experience to remember and feel that ache, and my previous incarnations provided nearly no room for unknowns.

My first life, as Kareese, had held so much love and laughter in such a short time, it was hard to believe it possible. Thedryk during that time had been my guardian, my teacher, and a love that held no equal in all the lives that proceeded it. My heart ached in remembering how I had betrayed him; I had left him alone to find me through multiple iterations, and each time he had allowed me to live as full a life as possible--too many were with other men. Finally this time had come, and there was no turning back. This was the only time I had been brought back in the form that I had promised before my death as Kareese, and I held hatred in my heart towards him. For waiting too long, for changing me at all, for tracking me each time, but most of all I hated being drawn into this life as Neva. I recognized my weaknesses and loathed myself.

When I woke from that first true reminiscence, I was vaguely aware of the muscles twitching throughout my body but highly sensitive to the presence sitting next to me on the bedside. Thedryk leaned over me, pressing a cool, damp cloth upon my forehead. His breathing was shallow; if any noise was perceptible, it was yet again his beating heart. He wore a nightshirt loose on his frame with the sleeves rolled back to just below his elbow.

"You're burning up." He smoothed the cloth out, pushing my hair back from my face as he did so. A soft knock rapped from the door. "Come in."

Through the doorway stepped the maid who had shown me to my room with fresh linen in hands.

Behind her Eliza followed. "It seems I will have to provide you with some protection this evening; you have left an unsettling impression upon all of the guests."

I opened my mouth to respond but could not speak. My mouth was parched; my lips felt tight as I tried to form words and then split in two different places on the top and bottom lip.

Atop the pile of fresh linens lay a small tin. The maid went to Thedryk without any verbal exchange, allowing him to take the tin, open it, and wipe out a small amount of what was within. He applied it to my lips, easing the sting from the forced separation. I found no strength as I tried to lift my arms; what little distance they pulled away from the bed at my sides barely registered.

"Don't bother trying to move, or speak, as you spent the last few hours using your gift, and in turn you managed to reach everyone else who resides here, including myself. It is dangerous to use your gift so soon for so long, and it would seem it is too late to try and hide who you truly are. So rest while you can, because the moment you can get on your feet again, your training will begin."

I tilted my head slightly towards Eliza.

Her expression was unreadable but for the slight furrowing of her brows, still so feminine. "Thedryk, I leave her in your care."

From his position on the bed, he simply nodded while staring down at my face. Eliza did not leave immediately but instead came to stand next to the bed where Thedryk sat, placing her hand upon my forehead over the cloth. Her hand felt as ice even through the cloth, and though I saw her lips moving, I did not hear anything perceptible. With that, she cupped my cheek, smiled with sorrow, and left the room without making a sound.

"Should I come back to change the linens, sir?" The maid had remained in the room, linens still in hand.

"No." He pulled back the covers and lifted me, carrying me over to the chair he had fallen asleep in just hours before. The blanket I had placed on him was folded neatly on the arm, and a small table had been set up with a decanter and glass; within both waited my breakfast. Though weak, I felt some resolve remained to handle myself as Thedryk set me in the chair, gently. He took the glass and held it to my lips, helping me to drink what I so desperately desired, and I forced my limbs to work to hold the glass.

The following half hour was spent with the maid changing the linens on the bed and cleaning up in the bathroom, followed by my sleeping for another full day before I moved again with ease. Thedryk was constantly by my side, but few words were shared between us in the moments I was awake.

Eliza finally came for me the following day. "It is time we begin your training. Any delay now could leave you in a less than favorable situation."

"I remember." I had been dressing when Eliza entered, my back to her and the door, putting on the set of black garb similar to that in my first memory. "Some at least, not all."

Eliza was behind me without any indication of movement, inspecting the job I had done in dressing. "There is so much more you will come to remember, but you must work on pacing yourself." She placed her hands upon my shoulders. "I know this is all so uncomfortable for you, but for me, I am getting part of my long-lost daughter back." Eliza turned me around to face her directly; she was dressed in similar clothing with her hair pulled up into a neat, tight bun. "Even if only a fragment."

All I could do in that moment was look away. This woman looked my age, and while I understood the first time I was born to this world was through her, I could not forget my family from my current life, either.

Seeming to notice my tension, Eliza let go of my shoulders and turned away, heading for the door. "Let's go."

At her command, I followed along a string of hallways and entered into the metaled cage, an elevator as she clarified. We went below the first level, two floors down to a large, open room. Weapons lined the sidewalls with a designated rectangular area in the center; patterns were marked into the stone flooring in various shapes. The air in the room shifted; both a lightness and heaviness prevailed simultaneously. My body felt weighted down and warm while the air in my lungs was light and cool.

Thedryk's presence caught my attention at the far end of the room. He too had dressed in similar fashion, but his pants were loose between the waist and knee; from the knee down, the material adhered to his skin. He stood leaning against the wall while talking with two women and two men. I couldn't hear their words, but their body language was tense. I read the unease regardless of the smiles they turned to exchange with me. Thedryk's eyes burning into my own did not grant me the false pretense of a smile. I noticed the others he spoke with were dressed in similar garb.

Eliza made the slightest motion with her fingertips on her right hand towards me; I intuitively grasped the meaning as she left me standing along the far wall. She made her way to the center of the ring as Thedryk pushed off the wall he had been leaning against and met her without the passing of a breath. The exchange between Thedryk and Eliza was no less tense than what we had walked in upon, and I could not hear their words either. A moment later, Eliza was back at my side, and as I watched her movements, her grace captivated me. Thedryk's movements were no less graceful, yet his were more abrupt on occasion, far more deliberate and sharp.

I recognized the men and women after a moment of careful consideration; I had seen the four during dinner. They had sat closer to Zachariah and Eliza's end of the table. I felt uneasy, even though Eliza provided an easy smile. The moment she crossed over the outer edge of the large rectangle, her breath and movements became audible again.

"It seems we have volunteer teachers for you." Eliza tilted her head ever so slightly in the direction of the small group. Thedryk's back was to us as the others all focused their attention on him.

"Why couldn't I hear you in the center, and why can't I hear them now?"

"We have a barrier set up in here. It would disrupt the other guests to hear what goes on down here."

"And just what goes on down here?" I slowly turned my gaze from Thedryk's backside to Eliza, trailing along the floor and its intricate designs.

"Sparring, mostly." Eliza walked past me to the wall just behind and pulled down two swords, handing me one in the process.

"What keeps the sound contained? Magic? Witchcraft? I can't..." I took a moment to consider what I'd just realized. "I can't smell any blood, either." I took the sword warily, feeling the weightlessness of the weapon.

"Does it really matter? Blood is spilled in sparring matches, so we have this area sealed off from sound and scent. Come, step in."

I watched with a moment of hesitation as Eliza crossed the invisible barrier before I stepped forward and crossed the threshold. I grimaced the moment I crossed; the smell of blood and sweat was overwhelming. Though I had recently been finding the scent of blood invigorating and appetizing, I found the odor within the barrier unbearable. Old, rotten, and soiled. I immediately tried to cover my face from the stench, but there was no avoiding what had already infected my senses.

"Seems she won't make it." One of the two women spoke, her voice light and deceitfully sweet. Just past me stood the source of the voice: black hair wound up into a neat, tight braided bun with light brown eyes almost the color of honey.

"Come now, Theresa, she is lasting longer than you did your first stand in the ring." A young man with blond hair and hazel eyes stood to the woman's left, just a few inches taller.

"Not for much longer." The other woman to their right spoke, a petite thing with red hair and bright blue eyes whose small stature forced her to look up to all those around her.

My stomach churned at the truth in her words, my eyes watering over.

The last of the four stepped forward, leading with a black piece of cloth in hand and motioning for me with his large brown eyes taking me in. "Place this over your nose and mouth, and tie it off."

Thedryk had been standing in the back of the group, but as the brown-eyed, brown-haired man neared me, Thedryk appeared at my side, faster than my newly enhanced senses could register. He moved my hand out of the way as he took the cloth and gently placed it over my mouth and nose, lacing up the cowl from around my neck. I smelled ginger, peppermint, and chamomile as I breathed in deeply. There were other scents I was not familiar with, and all to my great relief aided in abating the nausea.

"Neva, this is Theresa, Benjamin, Alana, and Luken." He introduced each in the order which they had presented themselves. "They have offered to help in your training for the next few days."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all, but...what is the training for?"

Thedryk and all the others looked to Eliza. A brief pause held among the group; tension had nestled back into place.

"For your own safety, there are some who would prefer you had not returned." Eliza was direct and clear in her statement, as though she had just told me the weather outside was balmy for the time of year.

No time was allowed for me to process the information as everyone except Eliza quickly returned to the outside walls, and Eliza's sword swung in my direction. I instinctively raised my own to block the incoming blow.

"Good." She provided a procession of blows.

I managed to deflect seven of nine dealt my way; the two missed caught my right arm and left hip yet drew no blood. I knew bruising beneath would be prominent, but the pain subsided immediately.

Between each of my tutors, they would not allow me to speak or ask any further questions, swapping between trainers and weapons. Eliza was swords, Thedryk the spear, Theresa the scythe, Alana with daggers, Luken with sickles and chain, and finally Benjamin with only his fists. I was familiar with all but the hand-to-hand combat; though my body instinctively responded in some fashion to Benjamin's assault, most of the moves were foreign in nature. I understood their benefit and flaws without pause for consideration as to how I understood. On occasion, Eliza stepped into the ring just enough to remark on form and reaction time and to offer direction on how to proceed.

"The mind and body must be in sync. Your soul is what tethers them together. It breathes for your heart and mind, reads your opponent's aura before your eyes even register the intent. Listen carefully to all those senses prickling beneath the surface."

Hours were poured into the training before considerations were made for breaks, and by the end of all provided training, I collapsed into blissful darkness.

Endurance

"Twelve hours was a bit much for her first day, Eliza." Thedryk was pacing once again, irritation clear upon his brow.

"We do not have the time to take this lightly." Eliza sat in only a blue satin robe, sipping tea from her cup as she stared into its shallow, steaming pool.

Thedryk clenched his fists, open and closed. "I know, but we cannot risk breaking her, either."

At that Eliza heaved a sigh and set her tea aside. "She will not be broken so easily. She is advancing faster than we ever anticipated. I suppose it has to do with how similar her current form is to the original, the same shape of face, eyes, chin, ears, even her hairline--though she is a bit taller. I suppose if Kareese had been able to grow to her age, she would have been the same. The very same as Neva is now." Sadness was present in her voice as she ended in but a whisper.

As a last thought, Eliza spoke to Thedryk as he began making his exit. "You haven't told her yet, have you?"

"She has not been here long enough for me to have the opportunity to do such, and right now what would she do with that knowledge?"

#

THE DAYS THAT followed rolled by, one upon the other as training continued. Days went to weeks, then weeks quickly became months. I was trained in fighting of all styles and manners, and studies were provided on all those who lived as part of the undying that we all were. The schedule Eliza provided me took up every waking second; not a moment was wasted under her guidance and tutelage. Only once was I able to catch another glimpse of Zachariah.

On my third night of training, when I should have been resting and giving my body its much-needed reprieve, a restlessness took over. With Thedryk's whereabouts unknown, I took advantage of my momentary freedom and ventured down to the sparring room and found Eliza, Thedryk, and Zachariah within the sparring chamber.

Because they were encased within the barrier, I could not hear what they were discussing but could tell from their body language and facial expressions they were not discussing pleasant matters. I stayed back, hidden beneath the shadows as lights were lit only above where they stood. As I could not hear them, they could not hear me. Thedryk stood just a few paces before Eliza, not entirely blocking her and Zachariah's view of one another. I felt the tension weighing heavily, even from the outside.

Then all three burst into motion; weapons appeared where I had not seen them before. I felt myself gasping, trying to remain quiet though they could not hear me. Zachariah held a dagger in each hand, his face twisted into an embittered scowl. He moved more quickly than Thedryk, to my surprise, yet could not keep pace with Eliza. The match was over in seconds, but I had seen each movement smoothly, slowed and drawn out. Thedryk had been bested by being outmaneuvered in speed, yet he had caught two hits with his spear that left small traces of blood across Zachariah's left cheek and right shoulder. Each wound healed immediately as I watched in disbelief. Eliza, however, had produced a sleek, lightweight sword that seemed a silvered-blue that had struck multiple blows against Zachariah, leaving him kneeling before her. Those wounds were not healing immediately. Zachariah spoke again, smirking with that ire still burning in his eyes, and was up again without hesitation, catching Eliza with his left arm snaking around her back, pulling her in tight chest-to-chest, and the dagger in his right hand pressed to her neck.

Thedryk had stepped forward but stopped, both men speaking to one another. Eliza raised her hand to stop Thedryk, never removing her eyes from Zachariah. Dread set in as I realized he might very well kill her. He was slowly but surely pressing the blade into her throat. His wicked smile spread farther; my eyes opening all the more before I rushed in, a shock to all three. Knocking Zachariah back was both thrilling and terrifying. The desire to protect Eliza had overwhelmed the fear that tried to bury my nerve. I had seen the surprise that overtook Zachariah in the moment before I swung my sword up, clipping his chin. Though delayed, he had still been able to clear himself of any fatal damage I might have caused.

"Ah, and here she is! The hottest topic for gossip." Zachariah sheathed his daggers along his waist and produced a small black cloth that he cupped his chin with. "It seems our time is over, my love." He bowed to Eliza, turned and gave a slight nod to Thedryk, and disappeared with a swift exit.

"What was that about?" I stood staring in the direction Zachariah had left, towards a door I had not had the opportunity to investigate.

"A friendly sparring match," Eliza answered softly.

"It didn't look to be friendly." I cut my eyes across to the red line against Eliza's neck that was already disappearing.

"There was never any danger for me, so please don't worry yourself on that matter." She smiled as honestly as she could muster. "Thedryk." Eliza turned her attention to him, watching a moment as he collapsed his spear and tucked it away. "I believe we should all get some rest now." Making it clear that was the end of the discussion, Eliza left the two of us standing alone.

Thedryk was apparently unable to relax. He was clenching his jaw intermittently, his fists balled up and knuckles turning white.

"Shall we?" I tipped my sword towards him, challenging.

As the time passed by in its frenzied blur, the others opened up during our sessions. Benjamin and Alana were a delightful couple to engage with in every manner. Romantically, they were coy together, playful in their relationship. Alana opened up fully, not holding back in any regard as she shocked me consistently with her personal opinions and anecdotal humor. Benjamin, whom Alana often referred to playfully as Benji, kept up with her through his sarcastic retorts. Socially, they were pleasant and polite, proper in their manners when required and considerate to those around them. When they recognized they were reaching points of conversation that created discomfort, they would easily change the direction of the conversation.

Theresa and Luken brought a more serious tone to their surroundings, seeming to draw in to one another and any who dared give notice. They were alluring in a certain regard that seemed mystical; a demure air always seemed to be present. The love they held seemed to bear no equal in its depth, firmly founded in compassion, as though they breathed the same breath. A person could drown in the beauty of their courtship, a delicate framework that could not be brought asunder. Watching the couples interact entertained me, enraptured me with how the two would balance one another. One extreme cancelling the other, providing something the other needed so as not to be swallowed up by their sheer intensity.

I sat watching the two couples spar against each other, watching as one exposed the other's weaknesses. I wondered then how many times they had practiced this way, how many memories they had created that I would never be privy to. Would I be considered worthy to be brought into such a strong bond of friendship as they shared? As always, when exhaustion was not the cornerstone of my day, my mind wandered back to my family as Thedryk and I left the sessions, and my heart seemed to bristle at the memories.

"Were we not to have returned long ago? Certainly those of your household will begin to worry."

Thedryk gave me a sly smile from the side as he sat across from me in the small room we occupied. Moonlight was pouring in through the opened doors that led to a balcony providing a view to the landscape before the castle. It was the first break from any form of training and tutoring of that day.

"I sent word just two days after arriving that we would be gone much longer than anticipated."

"You...what?" I had pulled my hands together in my lap, squeezing my fingers at the thought.

"Eliza said we should take some time to prepare, and I agree--"

"Prepare for what? Nobody will tell me what I am being prepared for, aside from my own life. What life is this, anyway, to be taken away from a family that loved me and reminded of all those before? This endless cycle...it's a cruel farce of a life lived!" I stood, my nerve endings afire, knocking my chair over, skirts ruffling.

I felt drawn to the balcony where the waning silvered light continued to expose the cracks and crevices of imperfect stone. At the balcony's railing, my hands appeared all the paler, fingers splayed, feeling the minor imperfections and ice intermittently filling the pockmarks. Thedryk came to stand directly behind me, his shallow breath producing small clouds.

"There is so much fear around something most of us have not had the luxury to experience, yet here you stand having experienced that very sublime release, forced to relive the endless cycle. Can you blame some of those individuals for their jealousy, their animosity towards you for something you take for granted, having the sole ability to determine a permanent effect? Wars have been waged amongst our own kind for so many reasons, yet the ability to remain in this life is that most dear for those who would seek you out. It is those who would pursue manipulating you into keeping immortality within their control. To them there is no better reason than to secure their livelihood."

The cold didn't truly affect me, yet I shivered nonetheless as anger pulsed through my entire body. "On whom would this war be imposed?"

Thedryk wrapped his arms tightly around my shoulders. My body was still sore from the relentless vigor of training, but his warmth steadied the trembling from my core for a moment.

"On everyone who could be considered an impediment, anyone who could be used to their advantage."

My trembling resumed with his cold words.

"So yes, you must become stronger, you must learn everything you can; otherwise, how will you protect those you love, let alone yourself?"

Though he ended the sentiment with kindness and sorrow, I still felt the sliver of truth he had slid into my heart.

"Have you always been so adept at wooing women against your favor?" I tried to pull away, but he drew me closer, his voice in my ear and breath on my neck, warmth tickling the hairs that hung loose and free from my braided bun.

"There has only ever been one I so desired, yet she constantly eludes me." With that, he let me go.

I turned to find him sitting in his winged armchair again, cup in hand, one eyebrow cocked as he watched my reaction.

My heart was beating fiercely in that moment and my cheeks burned. My blood began to burn for a different reason, which I worked to subdue. "I want to see my family again, even if only from a distance."

"Did you not hear--" Thedryk was attempting to rebuff me, but I would not have it.

"Every word, of which I am quite aware what is at stake to one degree or another, so all the more reason for me to return home and receive the much-needed closure I have from this last life I had the luxury to live." My words came out sharp and crisp, almost snapping.

I stared down his dour expression. I saw him considering conflicts and excuses. "Either you take me or I go back on my own. Make no mistake, I am more than capable of making such a journey alone regardless of circumstances."

For a moment, surprise rattled his normally calm features before settling back to the controlled expressions he played with. "It would be most foolish of you to make such a trip so early on by yourself." He watched my face carefully, searching my expression for any signs of doubt or fear.

I refused to give in.

"I will talk with Eliza then, if you are so irrationally determined. When do you wish to leave?"

"After the next sunset. It should give us enough time to pack and prepare for the travel back." I found myself wanting to wring my hands in response to the tone Thedryk had suddenly taken, his own rough and crisp, but I denied showing an ounce of hesitation. I knew faltering in that moment would give Thedryk the sign he needed to deny my request.

"We will need to stop at the cottage and my estate along the way. Is that acceptable?"

"Do I really have a choice?"

"No, unless you want to know how it feels to be burned alive, though I suggest you speak with some of the individuals in this castle which you have yet to meet. Those who have experienced that full, burning pain of sunlight and not just a graze of a beam." Thedryk stood from the chair in a brusque motion and knocked back the remainder of his drink. Then he nodded to me and exited the room without another word. The door slammed with his exit, and the tapestries and pictures shook on the walls in his wake. I held my breath as though he would hear it and my last hope would be taken away.

Desperation

"Say something to her, then!" Thedryk was nearly begging Eliza, leaving her somewhat amused regardless of the severity of the situation.

"She is not a prisoner here, and she is in fact a grown woman. She is also not the daughter I knew, Thedryk, but someone else and much more." Eliza was seated at the writing desk, pen in hand moving too quickly to register and only identified by the sound of ink tip to paper.

"You know she isn't ready for this." Thedryk was switching between pleading tones and threatening tones, trying his best to insinuate the grave possibilities to come.

"Stop, Thedryk, really." Eliza set the pen down, exasperated at the conversation that had begun to take over what little of her evening remained. "From all the time you watched her, all the lives you have seen her live, do you believe her to be so fragile she cannot handle saying a distant farewell to her family, or is it you fear you would not be able to protect her should anyone move against either of you?"

Each stared at the other as Eliza folded the letter and sealed it in an envelope. "Give her this once you have reached the cottage. Allow her the chance to see her family one last time. She needs this more than you can imagine. And simply be there for the woman you love. She will need you." Eliza dropped her gaze to the envelope, penning Neva's name on the front and her own on the back.

"We cannot afford to lose her, or any progress she's made thus far."

"Is that your concern? The progress she's made in training?" Eliza stood before Thedryk, seeming to startle him. "Or do you still deny yourself the truth?"

Thedryk took the envelope she tapped against his chest. "Your hypocrisy knows no bounds, does it, Eliza?"

She made no attempt to hide the hurt from his words, nor did she produce any response to his spite. "Zachariah has not been seen nor heard from since that night, and there is no word on his whereabouts. I suggest you watch your backs, and remember, we do not yet know for certain who the enemies are within our own ranks."

Reflection

Out of all the things I have taken advantage of, time is my greatest offense. Under the disillusioned belief that I could always make more time for one thing or another, I should have learned this lesson through a multitude of lives I have failed to keep sacred. Death was not an inept teacher, but I an inept student. Looking back, I know now I did not appreciate the sanctity within the walls Eliza had resurrected, the peace and safety that was provided without fear. I made friendships with but a few during my stay, and as I left with farewells and promises to meet again, I did not recognize the possibility of losing more. There was only seeking what my heart desired most, against reason, against reality. Time showed me the truth, that the vampires who desired to retain their immortality, who sought to manipulate or destroy me, had every right to fear my return.

# 

#

#  Part II

Masquerade

#

ZACHARIAH STOOD WITHIN his private study reviewing documents while listening to the sounds of chains rattling in the background. His companion just down the hall amused Zachariah for the most part. Ever fitful in nature, unable to remain still, yet strangely silent. Though only part of his favorite companion remained tethered to this world, Zachariah cherished their bond above all others. The plans he had for this particular companion would be the most pivotal to come yet. The man's spirit had been strong, nearly impossible to break. He was honorable, well respected, valiant, and proud without conceit overshadowing him. Zachariah had such respect and a sliver of hatred towards the man for such goodness, which Zachariah could not truly accomplish himself. It made breaking the man all the greater pleasure to bask within.

Two bolted doors farther down, another set of chains rattled; a miserable sound issued forth from between the small, barred opening. Zachariah cringed at the pathetic sounds that escaped from that particular room. Within that room was a man who had previously identified as a bard, one who had abandoned his people and escaped his duty to serve his kingdom's court by a twisted ankle. The bard had once been handsome and strong, but cowardice had driven him to turn his back on his comrades and loved ones. The coward was the complete opposite of Zachariah's most prized guest, and over time, rather than shriveling up, he had become bloated and fat; only his eyes held some light of what his good looks used to be, and even those repulsed Zachariah.

Self-pity was deeply seeded in the coward's soul. He had willingly offered up those comrades whom he had been traveling with when the frightening figure of Zachariah fell upon them. The coward had no regret for offering up those men who had willingly taken him in, making up a story of being a victim who had barely escaped with the skin on his back. Over time, Zachariah came to learn from the coward how he had left a woman and child behind; his false sentiments for the desire of his family spawned only from his pride that he could be with beautiful women.

The man had gloated over his previous conquests, how all but one still sought him out. Bitterness had edged its way into the conversation when the one woman who had denied his ego was addressed in their conversation. The desire to be pandered to arose from within the self-proclaimed bard, and for that, Zachariah had sought the woman out. He had employed her in his castle, far from Eliza's knowledge or any of the Council. She had a daughter from the coward, and to her greatest relief, the child took after her rather than the coward. The girl, age five, had proven to be strong and resilient, and as beautiful as her mother. A pearl that would only be refined over the oceans of time, she would live alongside her mother for as long as Zachariah could secure.

While Zachariah knew he was not innocent in any fashion, he held pride in the times of war when he had stood proudly by Thedryk's and Eliza's sides. Some goodness was still deep within him, and the woman and child were proof of his heart retaining some glimmer of who he used to be. Before the weariness of time had corrupted his soul.

Raising the girl as his own, he believed in keeping her as pure as he could, yet he trained her strictly with her education and physical arts. The mother knew what lay beyond the doors at the lowest levels; she knew he kept the coward and did not interfere. Zachariah knew the painful memory of the coward trying to steal her baby girl kept the woman in respect to Zachariah's wishes. The coward had demanded money for the return of the babe but had been caught before any such payment could be made. Now the spineless cod spent his days being the test subject for Zachariah's various torture devices. Rumors circulated amongst the small group of servants within the castle about which devices had been utilized. Through the gag, he could be heard in the lower levels of the fortified castle. When the test days were particularly brutal, the woman would venture to lower levels to revel in those moments. She knew herself to be not wholly good for this, but she was a mother ripe with vengeance for her child that could not be tamed.

Yet, questions arose within the sanctuary of their home inquiring what purpose their benevolent master had for inflicting such pain. What good came of the ceaseless suffering he would inflict upon his captives, and what was his purpose in leaving that one particular man alive? None dared to step forward and intervene, as all owed their master some great debt or another.

Zachariah had been biding his time during his visit with Eliza. With his tumultuous departure, he knew the time had come to set things underway. Though he loved his wife, he could not abide the impending changes she sought to ensure. Having arrived within the hour, Zachariah was both eager to set his plan into motion and exhausted from the immediate travel.

"Chelsea," he called to the woman, knowing she was just at the top of the stairs. He smelled her, a mixture of food cooking in the kitchen and sunflowers no longer in bloom, perched atop the landing. He knew she was listening to the broken whimpering rising from below, so he had given her a few moments, an affirmation that the man who would otherwise have ruined her life stayed chained below.

"Yes sir?" Chelsea's voice, firm and strong, responded with haste.

"Is Amelia already asleep?"

"No, sir. She is preparing for bed now. Would you like me to fetch her?"

Zachariah gave a moment of pause, thinking of the sweet girl he had been helping Chelsea raise. He and Eliza had so terribly desired children of their own, but that would never be. "If she is able, then yes, lead her to the library. If she is already in bed, then let her be."

He listened to the turn of Chelsea's shoes on the stone flooring as a silent acknowledgement to his request. This was nothing new, but part of their routine. The two acted as though in a partnership, each knowing what the other required in a platonic nature. Zachariah heard and felt Chelsea's movements as she climbed the maze of stairs, finally reaching her daughter Amelia.

Zachariah laughed and smiled to himself as he heard the excited shuffling of tiny, padded feet rushing through the halls, headed for the library. Closing the book before him and placing his pen aside, Zachariah headed up to the library to meet his adopted daughter.

Within the library, books papered every wall and every inch that did not give way to the door or windows. Stacks were set askew on the floor and spare tables scattered within the stately room; a smell of mahogany and paper created a comforting weight to the room. Centered on the wall to the right of the door was the fireplace, burning with a great fury. The crackle and snaps that issued out caused the small child to giggle and laugh in her mother's lap. Hair the color of wheat in the fields took on the warmth of the flames. Her cool skin was perfectly smooth; sweet round cheeks rose upon her dimples while green eyes danced with excitement upon his entrance. Moments such as these brought life back to Zachariah's heart, and he remembered what happiness felt like. Amelia leapt from her mother's skirts and ran to Zachariah, her gown falling back down to her ankles with her tiny robe unbridled, flowing out behind her like wings.

"You're back!" Amelia jumped up to meet the open arms stretched out towards her, Zachariah down to his one-knee invitation.

"Yes, my dearest. I trust you were a lady for your mother and our guests and have kept to your studies in my absence." He smiled back at the beaming face that nodded frantically, her curling hair waving with each enthusiastic bob. "What was your favorite study?"

"Fencing!" She wiggled to be free on the floor once more, to which Zachariah obliged. "Watch what I learned!" Amelia showed her form with an imaginary sword in hand before going into an array of parries.

"Impressive!" Zachariah clapped and laughed at the sporadic motions Amelia displayed. "Now, what about your practice with your handwriting and reading?"

Amelia stopped her display and slowly withdrew from her parry and thrust combination, her bottom lip slightly puckered out. Zachariah's eyebrow arched, and he turned to Chelsea as she stood from the chair, a partial smile breaking across her face as she reached over to Amelia to pat her head.

"I am afraid there was some struggle. It seems she has missed her reading time with you, Master Zachariah."

"Is that right?"

"Oh yes, and she has refused to practice her penmanship."

Zachariah carefully turned his gaze back to Amelia; her chin dropped immediately as she nervously wrung her little hands. The two adults exchanged a knowing glance before Zachariah stepped towards Amelia. He knelt down, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and waited for her eyes to meet his. Slowly, sheepishly, Amelia raised her large, almond-shaped eyes and found his calm, firm expression smiling back at her.

"You know why it is important to practice all that is provided?"

"To be a proper lady," Amelia muttered in response.

"And to be smarter than all the boys you will ever meet!" With that Zachariah lifted her and kissed her smiling cheek. "Off to bed with you now. Tomorrow will be a full day and you have catching up to do!"

"Won't you read with me?" The sweet-faced girl pleaded with her adoptive father, and he could only give in to the request.

"One chapter from our book, then off to bed with the star pupil." He gently poked the tip of her nose, causing her to squeal in excitement and beam a pleased smile at her mother.

"I told you he would!"

Zachariah shot a surprised look at Chelsea, a crooked smile on his face. "I concede, he certainly will."

Her mother only nodded and smiled in return. For those moments, they were able to see what Zachariah had once shined brightly with, a love with no end. A softness that had long been thought gone from his character, even by his loving wife.

#

THE NIGHT HAD ended blissfully happy for Amelia and Chelsea, yet for Zachariah, much was to be done before he could afford any form of rest. Beneath the slumbering people in his employ, far below where the stone of his castle met the crust of the earth, Zachariah set into motion his countermeasures to his wife's and the Council's plans. He knew they sought to end the immortal lives they had all been blessed with, the ones they were to be using to help maintain the order within their world with its unnatural inhabitants. He, and many others, were not so ready and willing to give up the lifestyle they had procured over time. Of the nine Council members, he knew only three sided with him. Though the Council was meant to hold twelve seats, Neva had little say in the affairs as they stood and Thedryk was beyond reason with Neva's arrival. Zachariah knew Thedryk had always stood with Eliza, in any case. Whether or not Neva had been turned, Zachariah's choice was predetermined without possibility of sway. However, Zachariah had a plan that held great risks to his own livelihood.

As he walked the depths of his dungeon, listening to the sounds of his most precious to most detested guests, he imagined the future. He stopped briefly before the door of the coward, peering in momentarily to let the plebeian know he was not entirely forgotten, before moving on to the key that could turn the tides. Behind the door, silence reigned; no motion, no signs of life reached out for recognition. Yet, undetected by the eye and ear, came a force greater than any of the five senses could detect. The spirit of the captive roared from within. Zachariah felt the anger overflowing, the righteous indignation that overwhelmed his heart and mind.

Zachariah tapped the needle in his left hand, squeezing the syringe lightly as the last bits of air escaped through the needle, showing the golden serum. Entering the room with his most prized possession caused the man in the room to come alive, but the chains immediately snapped, stopping the man mid rush. Zachariah smiled into the darkness that still shrouded the man, whose blood already pooled at his feet from the spikes in the cuffs that kept him weak and nearly crippled. Swiftly, without warning, the needle was deep within the man's chest, piercing his heart as Zachariah administered the drug. The man stumbled back and landed against the cold, stone walls, sliding down until the stone beneath stopped his descent.

"You are so full of life, even in this state." Zachariah stroked the man's hair back from his face, revealing the warmth of amber-colored eyes.

The man was filthy but beautiful. Skin that was naturally warm with an olive complexion was now ashen. His unshaven face and matted dirty blond hair would not hold back the beauty Zachariah saw within the man; his soul still shone so brightly with the fervor for justice. Yet those were things the human eye could not perceive. Only Zachariah's sight could marvel at this wonder of a man, one who would fight to the bitter end for what he believed.

As the serum took its toll, Zachariah stepped forward and began removing the restraints. Blood seeped from the puncture wounds slowly, proving little was left within the man's body. Upon finishing the removal from wrists and ankles, Zachariah hoisted the man easily, carrying him gently out of the imprisoned room.

"Come now, Alexander. I am going to give you one last gift, a visit home and a substantial meal. You will even be allowed the privilege of the company of your most beloved." Zachariah gave the man a gentle jolt, and he swayed loosely in Zachariah's arms. "What do you say?"

The man issued only a soft moan in response.

"That's the spirit."

Rumination

The cottage seemed quiet as we approached, and I felt the weight of hopelessness leaving my chest with every step and stride we took closer to my home. Snow had nearly buried the passage, and the cottage was a picturesque setting that I had seen in paintings. Inviting light beckoned from behind the windows to come in, wrap up, and have a warm drink. I had found over my time with Eliza and the others I no longer needed human food. A gradual process eliminated the need, my body no longer producing excess but only needing to replenish the dying blood cells. My body was burning off the dead cells like fat and rejuvenating with the new. I had learned that nothing goes to waste, either. We drank the blood, and the humans would utilize the meat, fur, and remaining items for other production. I saw the balance that had been created and was possible and began to hope that maybe the future could be different between me and my family.

Inside provided just what was expected: glassware sitting pristinely upon the rugged table and a carafe covered with a linen cloth.

"Thedryk, who sets this up before our arrival?"

Thedryk regarded the table setting and me with a look of partial disinterest. "Servants live here."

"Here? Are there rooms below? I don't recall hearing them the last time we came."

"They have a home of their own, just beyond this cottage. A path leads to their cottage behind the horse stables. I'm going to bed." Thedryk had filled his cup to the brim and was already making his way towards his room.

The trip up to that point had been in silence, with Thedryk brooding over the situation. Even so, his melancholy state could not hold back my excitement.

"Oh, before I forget." He turned back and stopped at the table's edge, dropping an envelope with my name written in the most elegant script. "From Eliza, for you." Then he was gone without another word or sound, leaving me alone with the envelope that shadowed the table with its wrinkled corners.

Slipping off my coat and gloves, I felt the edges of the envelope, recognizing he had kept it within his coat's breast pocket. It carried the warmth from his body. I poured my glass before sitting down and carefully opening the envelope, curious of the contents within. I feared she might be trying to dissuade me, even then. Before the fireplace, in a winged chair with my cup waiting patiently upon the side table, I read the letter Eliza had carefully crafted for me with mounting horror.

My Dearest Child,

Of all the time that has passed in the span of my existence, none has escaped me more painfully than that which you have spent here, as you are now, Neva. You have presented many questions that I have not been able to answer, not here in this sanctuary, at least. First, let me address your greatest concern of why you are feared. Quite simply, you can undo the immortality that so many have sought and enjoyed. Luxurious lives that never age, beauty frozen in time. While much good can be found and offered in such a prospect, there are more selfish motives at play, I fear. We, Thedryk and I, cannot say who wishes for the next life and who longs for immortality. Among those who cherish and adore immortality, two types diverge: selfless and selfish. There are too many gray areas to know the difference.

Second, I refer back to the first. You can undo what I view as our curse, and others view as our blessing. You might wonder why I cannot just use my gift freely to determine which of us is dangerous; however, there are rules within our Council that I must obey to retain our Order. Particularly within the sanctuary I claim as my home. While I have waited countless years for your return, with excited wonder as to whether or not you would remember our lives and reconnect, I have also been fearful of what the future would hold once you came back to us all. It may be that I have taken a coward's path, waiting for you to come and drive out those who would undo our inevitable future. I could have sought out each Council member within their homes and gotten my answers, disregarding our rules to never use our gifts on one another. It would have saved you what possible suffering may await in the near future. Yet, here I am. The coward and the leader who could not break frivolous rules, relying on her reincarnated daughter to break us free from a life without death, living without life.

Third, and finally, I write you in the hopes of sparing you of a possible mistake you may be making. Believe me, my dearest, when I tell you I understand the longing you feel, the strongest desire to see your family. However, I must warn you now you may very well place them in danger by going to see them and say your farewell. Those vampires who wish to remain may take advantage of this moment to strike you and your human family down. I do not know how to protect you in this regard, other than asking you to protect yourself and those you cherish from this most recent incarnation.

Know that I love you and have never stopped for one second of any day. No one other than myself, Thedryk, and Zachariah know of your origins, of where your family resides. Trust Thedryk, though flawed he may be; you have been his only thought and concern since the passage of time has lost meaning to our kind. Do what you must, but understand the risks.

--E.

I sat reading over the pages, again and again, wondering if I was not indeed bringing death to my family. The reality crushed my heart. Could I not see them just one last time from a distance? Say my goodbyes from afar? My heart felt the weight of loneliness and despair settle in all too comfortably. Hours passed before I found my way to sleep, and the time to leave arrived sooner than I could fathom. I began to believe time took great pleasure in my emotional turmoil.

Upon reaching Thedryk's castle, all the staff waited, fully bundled, in the falling snow with white clouds that blew out from between cold lips of a few individuals. Jessa and Muriel immediately stepped into place to gather my belongings, as well as a man I did not recognize, and Collin stepped forth to assist Thedryk. Collin took both horses by their bridles and led them away, as the other man, older by at least fifteen years to Collin, walked and spoke with Thedryk quietly.

"No, Jeren, the lady and I will only be staying for one day before we must head out again."

The gentleman nodded without removing his eyes from Thedryk before moving away to carry out his other duties. His skin was dark, his physique strong and agile, with only wisps of white truly revealing his maturity along the sides of his hairline. He stood taller than Thedryk but was humble at his presence. I watched the man walk away, gathering the pride he held onto deep within. It was a feeling of undoubted loyalty I could not shake.

The silence that had encompassed our entire journey continued through the rest of the night, and my unease grew. Thedryk could sense it, I knew.

"You look lovely, miss," Muriel commented. Jessa and Muriel were busy in my room preparing clothes for the next day as I was changing with Agatha's assistance.

"Though a bit tired, I fear." Agatha furrowed her brow as she took my face in her hands, cool and steady.

"It has been a rush, the last two days." I knew my sadness was creeping up on me and the women could see it clearly. "It's nothing a good night's rest won't cure for me." I smiled, a farce I hoped they bought.

None of the women pushed the issue but only praised the changes my body had undergone after my rigorous training. Dinner was prepared and I was expected to join, so I did, regardless of my hesitation. Thedryk was stuck in his ways, stubborn. Meals together were apparently a requirement, not an option, when in his home.

As I entered the dining hall, I found Thedryk seated at the head with all the servants seated as well. Upon my entrance, he immediately came to my side and all the servants stood as he guided me to my chair next to his own. Once seated, Thedryk took his chair and nodded, giving consent the others might be seated as well. I found the entire endeavor odd, considering how lax he appeared to be the first time I had met him in his home. While he dined with what I knew at that time as his servants, he seemed to make apparent his authority above all others within his estate.

"Are you prepared for our departure?" Thedryk was slowly swirling the goblet in his hands, the warm liquid contents within mesmerizing him.

My goblet in hand, I took a sip before answering, feeling my hesitation rising. "I am."

"Are you still certain about moving forward with your plan?"

I felt the muscles tighten along my back and shoulders, my proper posture too taut for comfort. "Yes." I hesitated in my response, a mistake I was certain he would take me down with.

Yet, he provided no response other than a slight nod of his head as he turned to address the others at the table in conversation. I took in all the different exchanges and faces tied to each, realizing the man named Jeren was not present. Also, a few places were not set with food but with goblets as our own.

"I must apologize, but I must rest, as must the Lady Neva. Please, enjoy your meal, and we will see you at dusk." Only Jessa and Collin stood and accompanied us out and to our respective rooms. Another day was passing too quickly for comfort as dread built. It was all beginning to feel wrong, but I knew not why.

#

ALEXANDER WATCHED FROM the carriage as Zachariah said goodbye to a young girl.

"I shall return without a doubt, Amelia." Zachariah stood at the front doors holding the small child close in his arms, kissing her cheeks and forehead in a clockwise motion.

"But why do you have to go so soon?" Amelia pleaded with him, mustering a pathetic expression to guilt him into staying.

Zachariah laughed in response. "I told you, I have work to do. Now, be good for your mother and teachers, young lady. I will quiz you upon my return home!" He passed her over to her mother's waiting arms, who promptly set the girl down. Chelsea smoothed out Amelia's skirts and fixed her hair, smiling at her adoring daughter.

"Be safe, Master Zachariah. We are all praying for your safe return."

With that, Zachariah nodded and headed out into the snow storm that had built up over the previous day. The gray and white created a screen against the man who sat waiting within the carriage. As Zachariah gave word to the driver and climbed in, he shook the snow off his coat and hat, gloves in hand, and smiled at the unmoving Alexander. Clean shaven, hair combed and braided, he looked almost himself again. Were it not for the gaunt look in his face, he would appear nearly as healthy as the day Zachariah had found the man. Though, when the two had formally met, Alexander had been cornered during a battle and fended off the invaders for his men to escape. His path had been cut off, and his fate accepted.

Zachariah, however, had arrived just in time to save the man and offer him the ability to be with his beloved wife again. He had fought off the enemy single-handedly and taken Alexander in, caring for his wounds and restoring him back to his peak physical health. Only time revealed the gravity of the situation to Alexander. The man who had saved him was no savior, but a demon. By the time Alexander had realized his error in trusting the man, it was too late, and the demon was upon him. A vampire, he had fallen to the guiles of a vampire.

Drained to near death and imprisoned, Alexander found the only escape he could, into his memories. He dreamed of being home, of a life he would never have the chance to live. Those dreams eventually became nightmares as time moved forward and he began to accept that what he longed for was no longer possible; his wife most assuredly believed him dead and had moved on, his country was possibly in ruins. Would there be anything left, he wondered. Insanity had become his only ally, and he had slipped beneath the veil as pain held no meaning. Zachariah had ensured Alexander's fate was sealed with continuous torture methods, both mental and physical. Always Zachariah brought the man back from the brink of death, only to drag him back down.

Now as the two sat facing one another, Alexander was kept caged within his body, the serum still hard at work against his body's high metabolic rate. Zachariah smiled cruelly at Alexander. Without any words, his hatred for Zachariah swelled. Alexander knew this demon vampire to be a liar. He had shown Alexander images that were lies, forced strange drugs into his system that caused delusions, even at that precise moment within the carriage; that was a fabrication of his making, too. If he could only move, for a fraction of a second, he would tear the vampire's head clean off. He would be free! He would be free to die, then. Yet, no movement would obey his will, and the two rode on in silence towards his homeland.

What had been left of the waning sunlight was replaced by the darkest of nights; no moonlight could break through the cloud coverage above as snow continued to blanket the earth. Calm had claimed the woods and paths they crossed; only the swaying and creaking of the carriage proved any life could be found in the desolation of night. Every hour on the hour, Zachariah would open his coat, pull out his needle and syringe, and inject the golden liquid into Alexander's chest.

"I imagine by now you are quite gone, mentally, and what I love about this special cocktail is that it helps to keep you exactly where I want you." Zachariah peeked out the curtain briefly upon a knock from the driver. "It seems our destination is only half an hour away. Rest easy, Alexander, your time has come to shine."

Awakening

The time to depart arrived without my mind affording me any rest. I tried lying down, but my fidgeting kept me from falling into sleep's kindness. I ended up exploring the castle, avoiding rooms where curtains had been drawn back. Bedrooms, bathrooms, the dining hall, entryway, kitchen, and a billiards room were all decorated in subtle fashion. More masculine than feminine. The library was not particularly small, but neither was it large in comparison to that which I had seen during our stay with Eliza. The room was lined with shelving that harbored books from authors I had never heard of, and a large round table was centered with four chairs appointed to cardinal positions. The marble top hosted several books piled high, a few opened to be perused. I circled the table and its books, reviewing the contents within that were readily available. Several were on subjects foreign to my knowledge.

"Wind and Hydropower Integration: Concepts, Considerations and Case Studies...Water Purification...Solar Energy Engineering...what is all this?"

"Change." A deep, familiar voice shocked me. Thedryk stood against the doorframe; he had been watching me as I sorted through his books. "I hope to one day bring the type of light you saw at the sanctuary to the entire world. Immortality has its benefits."

"These books, their covers and pages, the print...it's not like any I have seen. Where did you get all these?"

"That's a bit more complicated to answer than it seems." Thedryk hesitated a moment. "How about we save that conversation until after you have said your farewells to your family, shall we? I believe sleep is in order; the time is nearly upon us to make this final visit." He swept his arm out in a grand gesture for my exit, a complacent expression masking the frustration I knew bubbled just beneath.

"Of course, but I will hold you to your word."

"I would expect nothing less, my lady."

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the smirk crossing his face; my own came in response.

Of course sleep never arrived, and I was ready to leave and waiting for Thedryk by the first tips of twilight that descended. I had not previously witnessed the beauty that was provided between my home and Thedryk's. The landscape proved remarkable; I was in awe of the world outside what I had known the entirety of my human life. Even at night, I was able to revel in every detail from the mountains that peeked in and out of the distant horizon, which eventually tapered off to forested edges as we progressed, to the lakes and fields that shimmered and waved as we passed. I tried to imagine the beauty that only sunlight could produce upon every leaf and the burgeoning snow. It became apparent that the storm that had reached Thedryk's door knew no bounds, it was an endless assault upon the land. The bite in the air found what little available skin I had not been able to protect, and I wished for more. I was alive in those moments, I felt human once again. Memories ensconced my surroundings of holidays with my family, warm fires and special treats, wrapped gifts and fresh bread. Finally we arrived at the edge of the kingdom, and I was once more within familiar settings.

We slowed the closer we drew, at least four more hours of darkness waited for us and only thirty minutes until I could see my family. Even if only from a distance, my heart leapt at the opportunity. I had decided against the odds, selfish as it might have been, to allow myself a proper farewell.

"Would you like to see your grave?"

"A rather morbid proposal, Thedryk."

"I thought you might appreciate the care and attention your family provided in your homage."

Pulling on the reins, I slowed my steed and turned to face him directly. "You've seen it, haven't you?"

He did not return the look but only nodded towards the cemetery just beyond a set of gates north of the town's gate. "It's but a moment away."

I considered his proposal before replying, taking in the idea that my grave laid either empty or with that treacherous woman's burnt corpse. "Afterwards, perhaps. Speaking of, I take it you have accommodations for today? We cannot expect to make it back before the dawn, but I don't imagine it would do well for anyone to see my ghost about town."

"Yes, I purchased a home when I first knew you were here. It is prepared for our arrival." Thedryk spurred his horse on, and I followed as I considered the implication in his words.

The cobbled streets I knew, every stone and chip, every window and doorway I had made errands to seemed to be waiting on bated breath. Lights burned and flickered, throwing shadows from the falling snow.

"How odd it is to see the town so quiet at night." Only the horses' hooves clicking on the street that turned from pebbles to laid bricks gave any indication of life. I had pulled the hood of my coat up to conceal my face, should anyone be out even at that odd hour. Certainly I had expected to see some soldiers posted at the entrance, patrolling some part of the city, but all remained silent. The bakery, my family's home, waited around the next turn.

With no intention to go in, I held to my reins tightly and nearly snapped them as I saw the front door to the bakery ajar. Waves of snow had been ushered inside with lights still burning within. Before registering my actions I was already inside, sliding across the floor. What I had thought was most likely melted snow turned to black ice was in fact a smear of blood across the floor which I slid across in my rush. The blood was a frozen slush. Thedryk managed to catch me to keep me upright before I could fall over in the shock and realization of what was decorating the bakery.

"Stay here," Thedryk urged, his fingers pressing into my right arm tightly to assert his insistence.

He rushed around the counter and up the stairs, but I could not wait idly. I recognized the smell of blood and death above. So much blood. I could not begin to fathom what could cause such a flood. In the seconds it took to reach the upstairs, my mind had already processed what I might find, but my heart was not prepared.

The first we found was my father upon the landing, his sword in hand still with blood soaking the front of his shirt, his throat torn asunder. I felt myself flush. His eyes were wide open, rolled back, with his mouth agape. The sword had most definitely run through something, or someone. I knelt down, reached to his hand still wielding the sword, and carefully pulled it free. I gently squeezed his hand; little warmth lingered as I felt the cold creeping in from the lower steps.

"M--" I immediately tried to call out, but Thedryk grabbed my left wrist and slammed my face against his chest to silence me.

Then I heard it, the creak from down the hall where the girls slept. Fear gripped my heart. All I had learned, all the training meant nothing. I was afraid as a child. Not only of what was waiting within the bowels of the home, but what other horrors I was destined to find.

My mind raced as to the cause of such gruesome acts. It had to be a vampire; only a vampire could cause such physical damage, especially at the throat. Had I caused this? How could they have known whom to attack if only so few knew of my hometown? Dread and guilt buried me with grief; it had to be my fault. It was the only thing that made sense.

The floors beyond the cracked door groaned and pulled beneath the weight of the intruder. The door to our immediate left to my parents' room was ajar. My mother's figure lay in bed, but I could smell the drying blood. The door directly ahead was my room, the only one fully open; to its immediate right was the room which my brothers would use on their rare visits.

I could see within my room that someone had rifled through all of my belongings. My family had apparently left everything as it was, but someone had gutted the room and any semblance of my presence was no more.

My sister and her husband's room was to the right of the family room, its door ajar, and the girls' door at the end of the hall. I feared my brothers might be in the family room, knew my sister and her husband and the two girls were home, and could not find my legs to move.

Thedryk took my chin in his hand and gently turned my face to his. Once I looked up to his face, he put his finger to his mouth to signal remaining silent. I nodded, recognizing no further movement had come from the girls' bedroom. Thedryk's presence gave me some strength, and before he could move on any farther, I grabbed the lapels of his jacket and held him firmly in place. He yielded to my demands as I stepped before him, outlining the safe points to walk upon that would not give us away any more than my muffled, attempted cry. As we moved forward, precariously, I could hear the light, ragged breaths from within. My heart squeezed as I realized it was one of the girls.

A violent tremor shook my frame; they weren't all dead yet. At least one of the girls was still alive. Still alive...and suffering. That moment broke me from the spell of fear that had nearly paralyzed me. Creaks in the floor giving away our presence no longer concerned me, only saving the precious child who remained. Passing the remaining rooms, I smelled the blood, each a unique fingerprint to the owners. I dared not look as I passed; the fury I felt had rushed in and replaced my terror as though nothing else had ever existed. I was once again the killer I had started out this new life as, and nothing could escape my wrath.

I burst through the door, though the intruder had heard the shift in approach that signaled our arrival. Thedryk hesitated for but a moment, but that was all I needed to make it through the threshold and find my dead husband, Alexander, not quite so dead. He stood holding a small body in his arms as he drank from her throat, her breathing the only other sound in the room as his eyes stayed trained on my face.

His eyes were not his own, not truly. I recognized them, his face, and hair. His stature, even though bent over in his frenzied eating, was familiar. Yet his eyes were vacant. The man I had loved was not present at that moment; this was the shell of the man I had known. A monster had replaced the valiant knight I married, had murdered my family and was extinguishing the last light of life I had left in this world.

All the air left my lungs, vacuumed out by the utter shock and horror of what was before me. I felt myself stumble back, muttering, "Alex...an...der..." and Thedryk was grabbing me as I fell backwards. All strength, all anger that had motivated me a fraction of a second before dissipated.

Those monstrous eyes flashed but a moment, a familiarity clear that I caught as he slowly pulled away from the child's neck. "Neva." A simple statement, a moment of recognition, and gone again. His face contorted into the violent emotions of hatred at its many levels. "No. NOOO! A lie, thisisaLIIIIIE!" He chanted and screamed repeatedly as he frothed at his mouth.

I watched him drop the limp body to the floor, no longer breathing or moving. My beautiful niece was now at death's door, and my most beloved husband a raving lunatic.

"Iknowiknowiknowiknowiknowiknow!" He beat his head with his fists, rocking side to side on his feet, and a wailing began to build as Thedryk gently pushed me aside.

"What do you know, Alexander?" Thedryk was poised as a snake prepared to strike at will. I had never truly seen him in such a manner, though my memory scratched that perhaps another time I had witnessed this same preparation.

"Shhhh...shhhhh..." Alexander hushed himself, us, the room. "None of this, none of this, none of this NONE OF THIS is real! IT-IS-A-LIE!" Spittle flew from his mouth with each enunciated word, and he laughed hysterically. Whoever this person was, it was not the husband I had loved and adored.

"Who did this to you?" Thedryk pressed, but the doppelganger only shook more violently with his swaying.

Suddenly the swaying stopped, no sound or movements were made for a brief moment. It felt as if time itself had stopped with the man; even the one candle within the room stopped its dance. The next moments were painfully slow, ones I will never forget. I felt electricity in the air; his crazed hatred took shape as I saw the telltale clenching of his jaw that he was about to attack. Thedryk, too, caught on, but I was the quicker in that moment.

With my father's sword still in hand, I stepped forward in equivalent motion with the indifferent Alexander and cut the blade through his neck, severing his head from his body. The blade, which my father had kept in perfect condition, hummed with the separation. I felt the edges of bone from the vertebrae as it cut between neatly, as if knowing where the connections were made and how to narrowly avoid any possible damage.

"N-Neva!" Thedryk shouted at me in disbelief. "How could you do that?"

I stood with my back to Thedryk. An unsettling calm had anchored my body for the moment. "How? Why?"

"We needed him alive to tell us who had done this to him." His tone took on a more pained expression.

"That abomination..." My voice shook and my shoulders in kind; the anchor was beginning to loose itself. "It was not my husband. Whatever that was did not deserve to live after doing all this!" I was screaming. The neighbors would hear, but I could not control myself. "He knew my name, he knew my face only for a moment, but that was not my knight, not my valiant loving husband!"

I fell to my knees at the body that had fallen before me, the head in the opposite corner of the room. My niece's body lay beneath his, lifeless and drained. In my peripheral vision, I could see in the left corner my other niece lying crooked in her bed. I fell apart mentally and emotionally then, and Thedryk had to carry me out of the house and bakery.

"I am sorry, my love," he murmured in my ear. "You rest. I will take care of everything else."

He carried me three houses up the street, covering the distance in an instant. He had me inside and upon a red, velvet couch without making a sound. He covered me with a blanket as I lay lifeless, only curling into a ball to hold myself together physically. I waited there for the remaining three hours before sunrise, not moving a muscle, barely daring to breathe.

I recounted every second of every moment. Every scent I had picked up while in the bakery and upstairs, what was familiar and what had been out of place. My memory had become a place I could once again roam through, as though I were still there. Every minute detail was magnified, and three hours was enough time to recognize several pieces that were out of place, abnormal to the normal placement not belonging at all.

I had smelled multiple scents of blood, but somehow knew they all belonged to my family. Perfumes of my mother and sister, light and sparing from the soaps and shampoos of lavender and chamomile. The breads and sweets from the bakery, the scents of patchouli and sandalwood from my father, brother-in-law, and brothers. Yet, there were scents of pine and myrrh that were unfamiliar, and a bitter, dank scent that I could not place. From my room, I realized a ribbon that had been tied to my bedpost was missing. A gift my sister had given me that held a perfume I had longed for in our younger days, from my wedding day.

The memory of Alexander, or the Alexander doppelganger as I preferred, was a crushing defeat of the hope left in my heart. Nothing was sacred, I realized. His scent was where the oddities arose; though it was tinged with the scent of sandalwood, it was the smell of decay and loss. He was what did not belong, but the pine did not come from his presence. Someone else had been present, an impression left within the rooms. That, too, had been vaguely familiar, though I could not recall immediately how. By the time Thedryk returned I remembered how the scent was familiar, and I was no longer curled into a ball, a pathetic mess. I was instead up and pacing the dark room as he entered, the sky beyond the door beginning to lighten. It was a scent I had smelled at the castle when I was first meeting all the other vampires, when he stepped in from the sunlight. A scent from my childhood that had been all but forgotten even before the meeting at the castle.

"Where is he?" I wasted no time, though the surprise was clear on Thedryk's face.

"At the moment, I don't know." I could see his answer was honest, but it wasn't good enough.

"Where does he live? Certainly you know where his separate estate lies."

"Neva, now is not the time for rash behavior--"

"Where, Thedryk? If you will not tell me..." I stopped upon seeing his sleeves rolled back, blood stained, and his cloak hanging loosely behind him with the clasps around his neck attached to him as a child. We stood staring at one another for a few minutes, nothing said.

Accepting that he had handled that which I could not, I asked, "What did you do with them all?" Revenge was set aside. I had to know what had become of my family, of my twice dead husband.

"I removed Alexander's body, took it out to the cemetery, and buried his body in his proper grave."

"My family?"

Thedryk remained silent, his lips forming a tight line at my inquiry.

"What did you do with my family, Thedryk?"

"I had to leave them as they were, Neva."

I was stunned by his response.

"I could not move them. I spoke with the authorities in town. They are already there, investigating. Cleaning up."

"Wha--" I stumbled on my words, letting all of the pent up devastation flood outwards.

"They will claim it started out as a robbery, a duo of men. There are some terrible people they have been looking to apprehend already within their sights. They will use this as grounds to take them in. These men in particular were crazed."

I was shaking my head furiously. "No, it's not right!"

Thedryk regarded me carefully as he closed the door behind him; the sunlight was tipping over the rooftops, painting the surrounding buildings as it rose steadily. The storm clouds had slowly eased; snow and ice refracted the light, making the outside display all the more brilliant. I wanted to step out into that light and be taken up in the refraction.

"How is this possible? How can you be sure that is what they will do and say, let alone know the rest of the people here are safe at all? What will they do with my family?" I was stewing in the guilt that anchored me to the floor.

"This is not your fault, Neva." Thedryk unclasped his cloak. Weariness outlined with sorrow had settled into the few wrinkles around his eyes. He seemed much older in that moment, far more brittle than I had known possible.

"Then whose fault is it, if not mine? Was I not the target that brought this atrocity upon my family, possibly this kingdom?" My voice was foreign to my ears. Weakness of emotions tore down my final walls; my mind felt as lead with every possible response and outcome. Certainly Thedryk would appear to be the guilty party. The authorities would come to the very place where we stood, prepared to take him in and find me alive. They would know my grave held another body, if any at all, that they had all assumed wrong. What if they considered me the guilty party and Thedryk my accomplice? Would we have to break free? Would I accept my fate and step into the sunlight and die a most painful death imaginable? That seemed too kind, truly, compared to what my family must have suffered.

Thedryk grimaced. "I know who the guilty party is."

"Who, then?" I asked. Though I knew who it was in my heart, validation was the final piece I needed to solidify the resolve that had begun building in my mind.

He only looked upon me with his sullen expression.

"Who is it, Thedryk?"

"Now is not the time to discuss this any further. We both need rest--"

"Rest?" I retorted, incredulous with my anger. "How could you ever expect me to rest in this moment?"

I broke free from the anchor that held me steadfast where I stood and was upon Thedryk without hesitation, crushing his body against the stone wall. "My entire family has been murdered, and it is likely my fault, with or without my realization." I shook him involuntarily as I spoke, feeling no guilt in those moments. "And the one who facilitated this attack will not be allowed to live a moment longer than I will allow. Am I clear? You say you know who has done this. You tell me now or I will go to where you may never find me, always just beyond your reach, after I take everything and everyone dear to you."

"And what would you do right now?"

"Go after them, decimate them. They do not deserve to live another moment in this world."

"How? The sun is out. You will surely die should you step foot outside this house. You have no idea how to even find this person."

"I would find a way. Make no mistake I would find a way." And I truly believed I could.

"Let me go, Neva. I will tell you, but after you have calmed yourself. I will even help you take this individual out, as they so rightly deserve, just not this very moment. We will require help, and some planning. No doubt this individual knows we will be upon them shortly."

I had not realized I had begun visibly shaking all over until he placed his hands over my own. The warmth from his touch soothed me, and I released his shirt and collar as tears stung the corners of my eyes. As filled with righteous anger as I had been, I realized I had not begun to cry until then.

"He will be expecting us, and hoping for you to lash out in this way. It would only benefit him."

"Him?" I mumbled feebly as tears produced streams down my cheeks.

"Yes, a him." Thedryk guided me back to the couch, setting me down and sitting next to me by the arm. "And likely his subordinates will be waiting for us when we arrive at his home."

"Did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That this was going to happen?"

"Good God, Neva, no. Had I, had anyone, we would have taken measures to protect your family." He was whispering to me, stroking my hair as he pulled me close and pressed my head against his shoulder.

"What about...Alexander?"

Thedryk breathed in deeply as I spoke the name. "No, I did not. Please, let's rest a moment. I feel this has been too much...for the both of us."

So we did, right there on the couch in the dark sitting room with heavy curtains drawn to keep out the sunlight, the slight smell of must and chill in the air.

#

#

AS I SLEPT, I found peace only in the beginning. Darkness, thoughtlessness. My mind held nothing but pure silence, which I took comfort in. Yet colors began to spill into the black void, first as deep purples and blues, eventually giving way to greens and yellows, reds and whites. Shapes and images formed from the amalgamation of colors, and I was home again. The scents were dull; I tried to breathe more deeply to pull them in and never let them go, but I could not draw enough breath. The sounds, too, were dulled, but the visuals provided were as clear as any before.

A child ran by, laughing. In another, two young girls were playing with their dolls. One had a wooden sword in hand, the other a wooden spoon. I immediately recognized my sister and me, practicing our fencing in the bakery shop. Room was limited, and our other wooden sword had been damaged from a previous match. That match in particular was one I had held with Alexander. In our duel, I had managed to break the sword on his arm after his taunting and teasing of my weakness as a girl. It had been the first of many duels to come between us, and he never again referred to a female as the weaker sex. Great pride had swelled within me, and a few days of bandages for Alexander.

I wondered at the angle I was viewing my sister and me, her sword tapping my stolen wooden spoon and realized I was watching through the glass, which provided a humorous angle to see the immature forms we had "mastered." My mother's voice shouting from the kitchen drew us into the deeper parts of the building. My father was coming through the doorway from the kitchen as we rushed past, his laughter deep and bellowing as he ordered us to slow down. My brothers followed, each powdered in flour as they grabbed the bags that waited in the front of the bakery. My father paused briefly, looking directly at where I stood watching from just outside the shop windows and gave a wave and nod with a brimming smile. It struck me then, as my father opened the door to the descending dusk, that I was not just watching from the outside as a detached spirit of sorts, but that I was within someone else's body.

"Evenin' sir, back for more of my wife's soup and bread?" The sound was still partially muffled, but I understood the exchange.

"If it's not too much of a bother, I would be much obliged," a deep voice responded from where I stood, a familiar voice.

My mind wondered who this person was that my father so easily invited in, but I could not recall such a familiar person. Something scraped at the recesses of my memory; perhaps there had been a visitor at one point who had come. Perhaps a distant relative.

My brothers showed their respect by responding to him as "sir" as the man followed my family inside. My mother, most of all, surprised me as she gave a small shout of joy at the sight of the man and beckoned him over with outstretched arms to embrace him. "Finally returned, I see!"

"How could I stay away, my dear Mrs. Albers?" The man's voice was alluring, dripping with a sense of false flattery that my mother apparently adored.

"Well, have a seat, rest now! What news have you brought from your travels?"

I watched through the man's eyes as she pulled a chair out for him at the head of our table. My sister and I were busy taking turns cleaning up in the kitchen and throwing smiles the man's way, giggling in our excitement.

"Oh, nothing too exciting I'm afraid." The man winked at the miniature version of me, causing another wave of giggles to escape my sister and me. "Just gossip regarding royals, lurid affairs, and the like."

"No doubt it's more than we've heard here in sometime." My mother tilted her head his direction, a knowing smile on her face.

"What does 'lurid affairs' mean?" My sister was still drying a plate as she inquired, causing my mother's eyebrows to arch.

"It means terrible mistakes, my buttercup."

I watched my sister's face glow with a smile at the moniker. I realized, as I watched her through the man's eyes, that it was an appropriate pet name for her. She had bright, blonde hair and large blue eyes with rosy cheeks.

The gaze turned in my direction. "How is my dahlia today?"

I watched my younger self turn a sheepish grin towards the man, sleeves rolled back over slender arms, sloshing some water from the basin. "Very well, thank you, Sir Zachariah!"

Then the memory hit me directly in the chest, as a sword piercing the last of my innocence. Zachariah had been a constant visitor for the earliest part of my life, someone who had been close to my family for reasons unknown to me up until the exchange I was currently witnessing. My mother had poured him a bowl of soup and provided him with a slice of bread, cup of mead on the side. I watched the remainder of the exchange; for two hours, this man had sat in our house, laughed with the family, and I wondered why I had entirely forgotten having met this man prior to my change.

He and my father discussed the stability of the kingdom and those surrounding it, my brothers inquired about any hunting, and my sister and I inquired about the balls he had attended. My mother interjected only on rare occasions, preferring to be the gracious host who kept the kitchen in motion before rushing us all off to bed. Before the night concluded for us children, he had presented a gift to each of us. He had given me a black dahlia, made from foreign materials to "always serve as a reminder" of the man I, and we all, so adored.

His departure that evening should have been most memorable since it was the last time we would see him as a family. Once we were sent up to our beds I found myself looking through child-like eyes, a much lower level of vision than Zachariah's. It was another hour before Zachariah left, but his departure was not a silent one. As my mother and father bid their farewells and closed the doors, I was watching from my window, cracked open a sliver, above the bakery. He was only ten paces down the street before I saw another man appear from thin air and grab Zachariah, slamming him against the buildings on the opposite side of the street. Thedryk, I could tell now, was speaking to Zachariah, but he only raised his hands and laughed at Thedryk as a response. Fear had caused me to cry out a short "No!" The two had turned their attention to me; a scowl on both men's faces caused me to shrink back quickly, locking my bedroom window. I had thrown myself into bed, under the covers, and clenched my eyes, and no memory came afterwards.

When I finally woke from the dream a chill had settled in the room; several hours had passed. On the table set before the couch was a bowl I had not noticed before, with black dahlias filling the clear glass to the brim. I shot up as an arrow, immediately aware the smell of pine was once more present. My senses were shooting fireworks through my nerves as if every particle in the air were a danger, waiting to explode upon impact. Thedryk's voice came from a distant part of the house, still low and deep but filled with anger.

"Yes, thank you. Find out and return to me at once."

I relaxed only a little, still uncertain of the safety provided.

"Ah, you're awake. Good, make sure you have everything you need collected. We leave within the hour."

"Zachariah." I said the name as Thedryk was beginning to leave.

He turned on his heels and froze. His stance was unnatural, rigid and brittle. He waited a moment longer before releasing the air from his lungs in a huff. "Yes, Zachariah."

"I remember you. The both of you outside my window that night, the last time my family, the last time I saw Zachariah. What happened?"

Thedryk looked to the clock in the entryway before turning back to me, lips pursed and eyes narrowed. "I am not certain now is the proper time to discuss--"

"Tell me, please. I need to understand what happened, why he did this to my family. It was him, wasn't it? I could smell the scent of fresh pine earlier in the house but could not place it...why couldn't I remember he was part of my childhood?"

Thedryk walked over to the couch where I still sat on edge and just as slowly sat next to me. "He found out where I was, and who you were. I did not know for the first several years that he had ever made contact with you or your family, but once I did, I ended that communication."

"That night...you..."

"I told him to leave, to never return, but then there you were, watching..." Thedryk had leaned forward, elbows supported by his legs, hands clasped as though in prayer.

"And?"

"You do not remember because I blocked out your memories and your family's memories."

"You did that?" I searched for answers in the wood floors that peeked from the exposed sides of a richly covered rug; colors of burgundy, navy blue, cream and yellow wove intricate patterns as though hidden pathways. I turned to check Thedryk's silence before answering.

"Not I directly, no." He seemed reluctant to answer.

"Someone else...another vampire then?"

"Yes."

"Where are they, then?"

"Dead." A grimace took over Thedryk's features. "Zachariah was more than disappointed that I had undone his years of mole-work and killed the vampire who had been helping me for the last few...centuries."

"I'm sorry." I could tell a nerve had been struck. Had he held a companion I had not previously seen?

"Thank you, but it was some time ago now. I will suffer that loss as it was my responsibility to keep them safe."

"These are from him, aren't they?" I pointed my finger in the direction of the latest addition to the décor, the black dahlias centered on the table.

Thedryk only nodded in reply.

"I remember that night he gave me a single one of these. Why?"

"Zachariah is cruel in that regard. It means the warning of a betrayal. He does appreciate his irony."

"How did they get in here?"

"They were delivered to the backdoor, by the kitchen. My staff placed them here. I was hoping to remove them before you awoke."

"He's taunting me, us." My voice fell flat, realizing Zachariah's goal. "But to what end?"

"We will know shortly. We're heading to his castle immediately upon nightfall, though a detour will be required along the way."

"Is that not what you warned me against? Rushing in?"

"We won't be. I know his castle and have already had time to prepare a plan of attack, with provided assistance."

"I cannot see how you would have had time--"

"You have slept two days, with some assistance."

I felt betrayed by the meaning behind his words. "Assistance how?"

"Simply a little medicine to keep you rested. Nothing terrible, I assure you, but you have been hard at work with your gift in your sleep, so we had to ensure you were well rested."

"We?" Other subtle scents within the house reached my nose, scents I should have recognized.

"Yes, Eliza is present, as well as Piper, Jonah, Benjamin, Alana, and Eli. They will be assisting us in apprehending Zachariah. Currently everyone is in my dining hall, discussing the best strategy to move forward. I believe a consensus has been reached. Shall we join them?" Thedryk stood and reached his hand out to me.

I took his hand slowly in response, processing how quickly everyone had arrived and the news had spread. Two days certainly was enough time to get to Eliza, but not there and back. "What about Theresa and Luken?"

"I regret to say they will not be able to join us." Thedryk walked ahead of me as I followed down the narrow hallway.

I could see three doors at its end, one directly at the end and one to either side. The hallway was well lit with candles burning and sparsely decorated with paintings of mountains and fields upon the mahogany walls.

"Is there any particular reason why not?"

Thedryk stopped just before a door to our left. The knuckles on his hand holding the delicate doorknob turned white. "Because they, and a select few others, side with Zachariah."

#

I STOOD DUMBFOUNDED as Thedryk opened the door to the group waiting beyond, maps spread open upon the sizeable table. I could not move at first, but that did not stop Thedryk from stepping inside and actively engaging the planning. Eliza stepped away from the group as all took notice of my presence and led me inside. Her hands were cooler than the air in the room but still reassuring.

"Neva, I cannot imagine the pain you are experiencing."

My chin was quivering involuntarily, but I held myself together.

She continued, "But now is not the time for giving in to your emotions. There will be a time and place to give into the grieving you deserve, but reserve that until after we have apprehended Zachariah." She gently wiped away the tears that had spilled over without my permission.

I nodded and turned my back to the group as I composed myself by focusing on how to get Zachariah. So many questions needed answering before I took his life. As Eliza returned to the group, I stood at the opposite corner, barely hearing tactics to move in and capture Zachariah. My mind mulled over the insurmountable questions I had. What good had come of his actions? Why did he befriend me and my family? Did he take my husband, Alexander, originally, and if so to what end? What had Zachariah done to the man I once loved? Why had he destroyed my family, me? If his desire was to win me to his cause, this had certainly not been the way to garner my trust. I remembered some kindness in my youth, but in all the most recent interactions it was only cruel awkwardness. Bouts of anger rose and fell in tremendous swells as I considered what his actions could mean, what his thoughts might be, and I considered how I would kill him.

He had to die, I knew it.

There was no other answer.

"Neva?"

I had been so entranced in my thoughts and plans, I did not realize Eliza had been speaking to me. "Yes?"

"Perhaps you should sit down, and, Thedryk, has she had nothing to drink since her sleep?"

"No, I will get her something now." Thedryk gave a slight bow as he whisked himself away.

Piper came and sat next to me and hugged me fiercely, surprising me. "You are not alone. I promise you this, Neva!"

It took a moment for me to return the embrace, but as I did so, I did it thankfully. After a few heaves of my chest as the pain claimed its stake, we parted.

She held me at arm's length. "There are so many atrocities he has to answer for. We will make him pay for his crimes."

"What about Luken and Theresa? What about Xavier?" Benjamin stood off to the side, leaning against the far wall with his face a placid expression. The others tensed and exchanged uncertain glances.

"They will answer for any involvement they may have had in these events," Eliza answered with a cold tone.

"Who is Xavier?" The name was new to me, but I felt some importance upon Benjamin's emphasis and the group's reaction.

Thedryk returned at that moment as Eliza seemed to be preparing to tell me a bigger blow yet.

"Xavier is someone special. A vampire, one of us who came after you." Thedryk passed me a goblet filled to the brim, the sweet scents of berries rising from the red liquid. "His talent has opened many...doors, if you will, for us."

"Doors, how? Across kingdoms? Is he why there were so many humans living side by side with you all?"

"Not quite," Thedryk interjected. "More like...portals, but doors is an easier description to grasp. These portals can take us across great distances instantly or to a world parallel our own."

I slowed my drinking from the goblet, lowering it carefully as I gauged his words. "I beg your pardon?"

"Here." Jonah pulled a blank piece of paper from beneath the sprawled maps and snatched a pencil sitting along the side. He overlaid the paper on the map and drew a replica of what lay beneath. "Just as you see with this paper and the map, two worlds overlap. One world, ours, the one underneath, and the other, here on top, is another version of that world. There are differences between the two, and when Xavier uses his 'talents' to get us to this other world, we are able to gather a wealth of knowledge from different timelines. However, within our own world, we stay within the same timeline."

"How is this possible?" I marveled at what he said; it seemed unbelievable. A completely fabricated lie a child would tell in their wildest dreams and fairytales.

"How is your gift possible? Everyone is different and unique in this way. This is his, and this is how it works. None of us know why, but certainly it has its purpose and uses." Alana had been quietly sitting in a chair next to where Benjamin stood, but her voice was somehow alarming.

I looked around the group, taking in their solemn expressions. "That explains...a few things," I responded. "Is that how you all were able to get here so quickly?"

"Yes," Eliza responded, still so calm and composed.

"Then why is he with Zachariah and not here with you?"

"That, I do not know."

"How do you know he's with Zachariah?" The betrayal coming from each person around me was a weight tied to my ankles, taking me farther away from the surface I so desired to break.

"I do not know, only that before I stepped through the portal, he told me he could not join us but would be waiting with Zachariah when we arrived." An underlying distress subtly crept into Eliza's tone.

"That does not mean he's on Zachariah's side, though, then...right? Nor the others?" I asked.

I had no hunger within me, but Thedryk urged me to finish what I held before pouring me another and demanding the same.

Thedryk then answered my question. "No, it means we're uncertain of where he and they stand and how we should proceed."

"We should be ready to leave in the next hour. The daylight is beginning to recede already." Piper gripped my hand and gave it a firm squeeze before returning to Jonah's side.

"So we have it. Neva, stay with me at all times. Thedryk will guide us through, as he seems to have a more intimate knowledge of Zachariah's estate." I did not miss the irritation in Eliza's voice, but there was no time to question what caused the negativity. "And remember, we are apprehending, not murdering."

Those words I knew she directed at me, but I deferred to the warm goblet within my hands rather than look at her. No guarantees could be made at that point in time.

Thedryk poured me one last cupful before I changed and prepared for the journey ahead. I bathed quickly and pinned up my hair, opting for the black pants and shirt I found within the provided bag from Piper rather than a gown as usual. It was in reverence to my father; his requirement when training my sister and me was that we wore appropriate clothing for the rigorous training. Once we had the basics down, he taught us in our gowns, as ladies usually wore their gowns and must learn how to maneuver in any given situation. I pulled the provided cloak on and tied it; the entire cloak enveloped me without swallowing me. As I pulled my gloves and boots on, I considered the turn of events.

Everyone waited just beyond the front door, all dressed in their original black garb. To my surprise Thedryk stood waiting at the threshold, holding my father's sword and extending it to me as I approached.

"This is not by any means permission to take his life, but protection. We honestly do not know the others' intent let alone if there are any other vampires within his household."

I took the sword, regarding Thedryk and his words and nodded my assent.

What I have learned since then is to question everything and everyone; no trust can be given freely.

#

ZACHARIAH HAD CHOSEN his home in a strategic manner, which became apparent as we closed in. His estate, a castle with grounds sprawling across several acres of open land and forest, lay to the southwest of Vesuriel. It was only a two-hour ride to reach the gate and another thirty minutes from the gate to the castle, though we stopped ten minutes before reaching the castle along the tree line. We waited, surrounded by tall pines, and just beyond was open land leading up to the front doors. Lights were burning in the distance that danced upon the still-present snow, almost as a welcoming signal for expected guests. The location allowed him to visit the town with ease, to come and go as he pleased without interruption from the kingdom. This was a place the kingdom would rather have forgotten entirely, part of a scandalous history of the kingdom's first founding.

A betrayal had occurred within the royal family, resulting in the empty castle and lands before the town could be established. The cast out members had remained here, while the core of the royal family had moved to where the kingdom of Vesuriel has stood for nearly 780 years. The castle before us showed barely any signs of wear over the centuries it had stood, seemingly in much better condition than Vesuriel's castle.

"Remember, as we enter, I will take lead. Zachariah is expecting us but is also prepared in ways we do not know. If the others have truly sided with Zachariah, we should try to avoid a fight at all costs." Eliza was eyeing each of us individually, securing our understanding. Her expression gave the unspoken warning that going against the best laid plan would mean dire consequences. "But should anything go wrong, remember to stick with your assigned teams."

A feeling of familiarity struck me as a lightning bolt. "I've been here before..." The thought slipped out in a whisper.

As the others moved forward without delay, walking boldly into the stark, bright night with stars calling from above and the half-full moon lighting the scene before us, Eliza and Thedryk stopped short and looked to one another.

"We should move along, Neva." Thedryk gently pulled me forward with his words and hand, and I followed while still wondering how this place could be so familiar yet so foreign.

As we hedged our way through the snow, the feeling within me grew. I became uncomfortable with each step of our advance. "Why should I recognize a place I cannot recall fully?"

We had caught up with the group, slowed as a whole.

"Neva, we do not have time for this," Thedryk warned me with his tone.

Eliza opted to reveal the secret instead. "This used to be our home, those of us from back then." Eliza was staring at the castle ahead with visible sorrow framing her delicate features.

"Was this where I was raised?"

Without guidance, the group began moving forward again at a faster pace than before, and I followed. As we progressed, we covered the distance of several acres in but a few moments.

"For a time, yes. This is Zachariah's family home. His cousin was my first husband. My husband was older than I at the time, ten years my senior, Zachariah only five years older. The past is inconsequential at the moment, however." Just as Eliza began to deflect the topic, a voice called out across the open expanse that remained between us and the castle, echoing into the quiet of the night. All immediately stopped upon the announcement of his presence.

"Welcome, my dearest! I thought you would never come!" Zachariah stood atop the dual set of stairs that wrapped around and led to the front doors. The grey stone seemed to shimmer blue in contrast to the white snow. Shadows were cast from every angle beneath the moonlight. Decaying vines that scaled the various walls created the illusion of creatures coming alive from the darkness. "Please, join us inside." Zachariah extended his hand in a goodwill gesture. He disappeared without warning, and everyone broke from the spell. As though a single being, we all moved forward at the same pace up the stairs to the right.

"This has to be some sort of ploy, Eliza." Thedryk had taken her arm to stop her from entering the open doors.

"Then everyone should be prepared for anything to happen." Eliza's response was sharp and low, under her breath as she pulled away gently.

The entrance had been decorated with branches of holly. I could only imagine they must have cleared an entire row of holly bushes to create the awe-inspiring sight. The red berries and waxy green leaves were sprinkled with snowflakes that defied the odds and retained their frosty shapes. The doors were made from oak, solid in their structure and banded together with large black bolts and hinges of intricate designs scrolling forth. From between the two open doors, light abounded, inviting with the scents of cooked ham and turkey, sweet treats I knew well, and berried wines.

A trill of laughter sounded from deep within the castle walls; people were celebrating somewhere. From outside, several horses fretted from their stables, signaling the distress. Whatever was heading from their direction caused their frenzy to grow.

"They're here." Eliza snapped her head towards the approaching force.

Theresa and Luken leapt over the wall of stairs, landing before Alana and Benjamin. Each had been on the opposite side of the stairwell. Theresa gave a courteous nod to Alana, scythe in hand, while Luken only offered Benjamin a mocking, bitter smile as he lowered his sickle and chain through his hands.

"Meet us inside." With that, Eliza headed in.

The two pairs immediately engaged. I watched a moment, in shock, as they threw themselves at one another without a word. They seemed to know their unspoken roles and accepted them without question.

Thedryk was swiftly dragging me along by my arm, leaving me torn between wanting to beg the pairs to stop and wanting to get to Zachariah myself. The latter of the two desires won, and I caught up to Eliza, Jonah, and Piper in seconds. The cacophony of sounds of metal clashing and sparking broke into the quiet of the night. Every stroke, each succession of blows caused me to cringe a bit inside. They had all seemed on such good terms that it hurt me to know they had any reason to fight one another, especially in what might be to the death. I knew from my own sparring they were all nearly evenly matched, yet I feared for those who would be considered my comrades. Those who had followed Eliza, Thedryk, and myself.

Entering the grand hall, two sets of stairs led to another level, each set to a wall on either side, while the hallway continued on to meet a set of double doors directly ahead. Other rooms lined the hall with the doors' thick frames protruding from the walls, a scroll design in white matching the walls. Everything about the interior was brilliant with color. The walls were almost an ivory, with cream accents. Murals of floral fields hung from the walls, not what I had expected. A crystal chandelier hung above, throwing prisms of rainbows across the room. On the marble floor, interlacing rectangles of white cut out a crisscross pattern along the large squares of ivory. In the middle of the hall, a golden and bronze compass design had been included.

While the room was a sight to be appreciated, it felt wrong as well. The air was sweet, the room decadent, but the atmosphere held a ravenous tremor, the feeling of it feeding from any life that entered. I shivered as the feeling closed around my skin, a cocoon filled with acid.

"Soul-sucker," Thedryk uttered the words that filled the needed description.

"Is this a spell?" I whispered the question, afraid an answer might appear.

"No." Eliza's response was just as quiet. "Just as there is an alternate world we do not see, there is energy our bodies are designed to intercept and understand. A more subconscious reaction our minds interpret and respond to."

I considered her words as we advanced through the double doors that waited ahead. They opened to a room with stairs heading below directly before us. Lights flickered along the wall, candles that provided a softer touch to the room and descending stairwell. The sounds from the fighting outside nearly ceased to exist as the doors shut behind us on their own. The three of us turned around immediately, though no culprit remained in the room with us.

"Down?" I asked.

"Down," both Eliza and Thedryk responded, but movement from behind us turned the group to see the doors open once more.

The cold air from the open entry spilled into the room that had already warmed. Piper and Jonah stepped in through the reopened doors fighting with a large group of unknown vampires that flooded the entryway.

"You three move on without us. We'll catch up," Jonah directed, his back to us.

"Don't take too long," Eliza replied and began heading down once more. No other consideration was an option in the situation.

"You know us better than that, Eliza." Piper looked back with a winning smile, prompting us all to move ahead.

Two more gone from our group, and my heart sank. I felt as though we were leaving them behind to never see one another again. Instead of letting one more pitiful emotion bury me, I tried to focus on what lay ahead.

"What you said earlier, is it like we are experiencing the feelings within the castle?"

Eliza partially turned her face to me in response. "Something of the sort, with the strongest of those being Zachariah. This is his home, his domain. The people currently here I cannot speak to, though I imagine some must be part of his household."

As we descended, the lights became fewer in between. The hallway darkened, though our eyes could see clearly. Our descent revealed two levels below the castle existed. The first seemed to be a set of rooms with hallways that branched off from the main at a landing. The second ended at a door at the bottom of the stairs. This door fit what I had originally expected to find upon entering the castle. It was metal with a slot that could open to view in or out. The air smelled of a cold dampness that crept through our clothes to the bone, yet we could all sense something worse lay beyond that. Death had been present beyond this door; pain and suffering had been dealt here, and recently.

Our vampire senses picked up the overwhelming smell of old blood, something that would otherwise have been long gone but was as strong as if it had be spilled only in the past few hours. The smell of fresh blood was an overlapping odor. While fresh in its presence, it smelled of decay. Rot. Only maggots would be interested in this; not even rats would come near, I was certain. Sweat was present, a pungent odor that nauseated my stomach.

A scream came from beyond the door, ricocheting off the walls and past the door. Eliza had been waiting, for what I did not know, but at screams of what I assumed to be a man, she had flung the door open. A sword she had managed to keep concealed reflected the torches that burned just beyond the door. Thedryk pulled forth what I thought was a short, stout dagger, but he proved me wrong when he depressed a lever just below the hilt of the weapon, extending a full pole of five and a half feet. The blade made up the other half foot, making the weapon a full six feet in length.

Drawing my sword in response to their actions, I followed as we rushed headlong down the corridor towards the room at the very end. The corridor was wider than the stairwell had been and had rooms, prison cells I knew, that lined the walls. Sounds issued from a few that we rushed past, and I did not miss the groaning pleas that tried to escape.

I refused to look; I could not. I knew I had no time to stop and help them; I could come back after we captured Zachariah.

As we neared the end of the hallway and approached the door, it burst open, and Zachariah thrust out with it. He reached Eliza first with his dagger, burying it into her abdomen. He had taken her by surprise, causing me to cry out in shock. Yet Eliza had landed her blow: her sword had struck through Zachariah's side; navy blue threads had been cut clean from his coat, and the blade was bearing his blood. The two pulled away from one another. Eliza, having taken a more vital blow, was caught by Thedryk as she fell back. Zachariah saw his chance to attack once more and leapt forward at the two.

#

"WHY ARE YOU doing this?" Benjamin asked. He and Luken stood face to face, each trying to control their labored breathing.

"That is something you would not understand." Luken broke the hold between the two, pushing Benjamin away with a quick thrust of a knee to his abdomen. Benjamin pulled away in response to miss the incoming attack.

"That's not right, Luken. We have known each other for quite some time now. Please, my friend, won't you trust me?" Benjamin pleaded all the more.

The two had been closest of friends. Benjamin was older by two years although he had chosen to accept the change at a younger age than Luken. Alana and Theresa were equally close, and had each accepted the change with their significant others. The women were having their own conversation farther away. Their fighting had drawn them farther out from the castle, into the open land and snow.

"I don't want this," Theresa stated during a brief pause. She and Alana were both breathing heavily in the cold, small cuts upon each of them.

"Then why, Theresa? This is not what we want either. Can't we stop this?" Tears shimmered in the corners of Alana's eyes as she spoke. "What is it that Zachariah has promised or told you? It has to be a lie. He's nothing but a liar, Theresa! Look at what he's done, all the people he's hurt!"

Theresa's body tensed at the words. "I don't trust him, not entirely. Yet there is some truth to his words, Alana. With Kareese returning, we all know it could mean the end of our lives as vampires. We can't afford that."

"What--"

Theresa attacked at full speed and strength again, their brief interlude ending in a violent clash. Theresa swung her scythe in horizontal slash; Alana leapt over the blade and managed to duck under the arm of its pole and close the gap between the two. Yet Theresa was equally agile and was able to pull her scythe back up and around in a large arc above, jumping back from her position to swing the arced blade back down upon Alana. She met the full brunt of the blow with her two daggers deflecting the edges of the blades. The sparks from the metal colliding sputtered out as a dying fire, embers that burned hot and met the cold on equal terms.

Alana threw two daggers she had hidden within her waist band. Theresa successfully spun away from one, which missed her waist line, as the other caught her scythe, protecting her right shoulder. Alana rushed in, dodging Theresa's scythe and landing a quick succession of blows to her abdomen, winding her. Theresa remained close to Alana and twisted and swung her scythe. She was faster than Alana in that moment and managed to strike her along her neck and shoulder. Alana nearly blacked out in that moment.

Theresa grabbed Alana and pulled her tight, carefully guiding her to the ground. The two sat there, bloodied from the hits they had managed to score upon one another.

"Luken was dying before his change, Alana." Theresa's voice quivered with the words. "His disease has not been cured, only put at bay. If we return to being humans, his sickness will return, and he will die within two years." She hugged her friend tightly.

Alana placed a shaky hand atop Theresa's arms and squeezed gently. "Xavier?" The blow had left her winded and senses a bit skewed.

"He cannot guarantee he can get us to the right time and place for the treatment, let alone that they even have a treatment for what Luken has. Luken also wants to stay in our world; he refuses to discuss crossing that barrier. He won't say it aloud, but he's terrified." Theresa was gently rocking.

The sounds of fighting near the castle entrance intensified. Screams carried across the distance the two women had placed between themselves and the castle.

"They should be reaching Zachariah about now."

Alana heaved a sigh. "I am sorry about Luken, Theresa."

"Please, do not apologize. This is the way things are, and we are trying to do what we know is right--" Theresa gasped as a dagger went into her heart.

"I'm sorry..." Alana gripped the blade's handle tighter before tearing the blade back out. Blood poured from the wound. "We both know this will not end your life, but I need to get back and help the others. I promise you we will find a way to help Luken." Alana returned the favor of carefully guiding her friend to lie down entirely and pressed Theresa's hands tightly against the wound. "I'll send Luken to you."

As Alana turned to leave, Theresa called out a final warning, "Alana! Zachariah may have," she gasped between the words, pumping her heart along and the blood out, "made mistakes, but that does not mean Eliza has been innocent."

Alana regarded Theresa a moment. "Do not move or talk anymore, or you might die." Alana ran off in the direction of the ensuing massacre.

"You're making far too much of a mess, love." Piper teased Jonah as her whip lashed across a vampire's neck and pulled her, decapitating the unwitting creature. Blood dotted the mechanical marvel; her whip was a piano wire with improvements of miniscule barbs lining its length.

Jonah swung his mace, crushing the chest cavity of another vampire. "Fighting is not a clean affair." He swung around once more, scoring another vampire approaching from behind in the temple, the skull disintegrating from the impact; blood sprayed across the snow. "And be careful of your words. It seems you are making a spectacle of your kills as well!"

Piper looked down at the corpse to find blood pouring out at the neck, a pool caving in the snow below from the fresh warmth. "That can't be helped!" she defended herself, almost pouting.

"It is odd, though. These vampires seem to be mindless drones. What has Zachariah been up to?" Jonah wondered aloud.

"Perhaps we should not kill them, then?" Piper looked around at the numerous corpses, a small number compared to what had slowly been pouring out from the castle doors.

The two had made their way to the base of the stairs outside, to allow a more open arena for their battle. Luken and Benjamin were fighting along the side of the castle towards the horse stables, and Theresa and Alana were back towards the tree line. Yet, as Piper considered sparing the mindless vassals, Jonah engaged two more, ending them as swiftly as it began.

"Perhaps not. They seem determined to interfere with our private business with Zachariah," Jonah replied. A flash of darkness sped past the two. They recognized Alana headed directly for Luken and Benjamin.

"Pft," Jonah huffed out his false disapproval. "She could have at least stopped to help for a moment."

"Now don't tease. If it were us, there would be no thought to where our assistance would be provided." Piper lashed out her whip; sixteen feet of misfortune reached across and grabbed another unsuspecting victim. As the whip recoiled back to its rightful place at her side, the blood created strokes of burgundy along the castle and snow.

"You tell me I'm messy." Jonah eyed her precariously.

"Just look at those clean lines, though! You cannot tell me they are not a beautiful collage of strokes," Piper retorted.

Jonah shook his head. "I worry about you. Had you not been turned, I worry what kind of person you would have proven to be."

Piper beamed a smile at him as she approached. "I would have proven even then to be the most wonderful wife you could ever find."

The two kissed briefly before returning to their duty. The vampires had finally stopped spilling out of the castle, it seemed.

"It's not too late, Luken!" Benjamin shouted as Alana approached.

Luken's left sickle was singing as it glided through the air, the right following, and Alana stopped both in their tracks, surprising the men.

Luken's shocked expression gave way to a knowing one. "Where's Theresa?" He scowled at Alana, fear and anger intermingling upon his face.

"She needs you now, Luken. If you do not hurry, she could die."

Luken's mouth dropped open in the shock.

"Go. You cannot win this."

Luken pulled his chains back in, the sickles seeming to stand at attention once back in his hands. "You have no idea the mistake you're both making here." And he was gone, leaving Benjamin and Alana alone.

The two looked at one another, taking mental notes of every wound before meeting in the middle, a tight embrace with Benjamin enfolding the petite frame of Alana. His arms around her shoulders, her arms around his waist.

He kissed her head. "Time to go, sprite."

Returning to the front of the castle, they found a spread of dismembered bodies and a mixture of deep red blotches, pools, and streaks decorating the lawn and walls. Jonah and Piper finished off the last vampire together in a most violent display of Piper's whip wrapped around the vampire's midsection, shredding the woman's clothes and skin, and Jonah swinging his mace up high, over, and down, removing what neck had been. The sound of skin tearing and bones breaking equally matched in volume with the breathing of Jonah and Piper. Alana gasped and gagged at the sight and smell.

"Why do they smell so terrible?" Alana asked, trying to keep her composure.

"I'm not sure," Jonah replied. "But I believe our host has the answer."

With that, the four made their way inside, heading in the same path as Eliza, Thedryk, and Neva.

#

SWORD AND DAGGERS collided as I intercepted Zachariah. A breeze fell under Thedryk's spear as he swung the massive weight out with relative timing. My deflection pushed Zachariah back, causing him to laugh out loud in what I gathered was surprised joy.

"So you join the fray, cousin!"

I physically cringed in response to his words. The idea that we were related crept beneath my skin and nicked at my nerves.

"What? Would you prefer I call you daughter? You could have been my daughter, though looking through a legal lens, you are considered my step-daughter." Zachariah was reviewing the logic of the matter, taking a moment to prove he somehow had the upper-hand.

"How dare you?" My body trembled from the ire that rose from within.

"How dare I?" Zachariah recoiled and spat out the words. "How dare I? You hypocrite! You leave us to change our own brethren in arms to live as immortals until you deem it's time to end our lives? What do you know of the suffering that has been endured? You left us and lived, Kareese! You lived and died, loved, bore children, and were allowed to forget. None of us were allowed to forget."

His outrage bulged in his veins and eyes, his face turning red with each enunciation that infuriated him. "We all have had to live and remember, and just when we get the chance to do some truly honest good in this world, you come to take it away!"

No one moved at first. I could only stare in disbelief at the thoughts and emotions he had expunged.

"No one is meant to live forever," Eliza spoke, her voice strained.

"You do not get to speak, my love." Zachariah pointed the tip of his dagger her way, and Thedryk moved between the two, protecting Eliza.

"Do you realize what you have done?" I asked, ignoring the hateful looks he cast Eliza's way.

"Yes, and I have been most successful, as here you all are!"

"You murdered my entire family." I had begun walking towards Zachariah without realizing it, until he took a step back.

"That was a necessary evil, Kareese." His genuine belief stopped me a moment. "If I had not, I would not have been able to get all of you here as intended."

"Intended for what? To kill me? You could have just invited me out here or found me along the way, any other string of possibilities rather than taking my dead...husband. What did you do to him?"

I began my advance again and engaged him immediately. I struck at him with a vigor I had not previously known, more instinct and emotion culminating into a vortex of motions. For a moment, he struggled to keep up, his eyes showing distress for a single second.

"Not going as you intended, is it?"

We were a spectacle of sequenced attacks, thrusts, lunges, cuts, parries, retreats, and beats. As I swiped at him, he disengaged my blade and pushed us apart.

"It is going well enough," he responded with a smile.

I hadn't realized until that moment he had led me into the room in which he had been waiting. The door slammed shut behind me, and I turned to find a man with rich dark skin and eyes almost amber. He seemed around my age and stood a solid six inches taller than I.

I had allowed too many distractions, and Zachariah had taken me by surprise. He knocked my sword from my hand and grabbed my neck, lifting me off the floor as though I were but a tiny bird in his hand at his mercy. His fingers squeezed, tightening around my neck as I heard Thedryk's panicked calls from beyond the door. He was beating upon the metal, denting it in the process.

"Tsk." Zachariah dared to dart his eyes to the door and back to me. "He has always had such poor manners." He raised his voice. "We're busy at the moment, but if you come back in, say, five minutes, we will be more than happy to assist you, sir!" Zachariah released a bitter laughter at his response.

I was thrashing in his grasp, losing my breath and energy quickly, knowing I would soon succumb to that ensuing darkness.

"Your husband was a most marvelous specimen." He slammed me against the wall twice to stop my thrashing, and it worked. "He served to help create the serum that had failed in my other experiments."

I tried to blink away the black spots that filled my field of vision, and Zachariah dropped me to the floor, leaving me to stumble backwards right into the other man's arms.

"Xavier, the portal, if you will." Zachariah turned on his heels to face us both, one hand and arm propped against his hip, the other gesturing forth to continue with the provided service.

Xavier made no effort to respond, but only did as requested.

Even with my vision partially marred, I couldn't help but appreciate the awe that the phenomenon demanded. In the middle of the room, next to where Zachariah stood, the air seemed to ripple as still water does from a pebble's impact. That same space suddenly shook in an agitated fashion, and an image appeared, about four feet wide and six and a half feet tall. As a floating portrait, an image of mountains, snow, and a castle shimmered. It was night in this portrait, but the surrounding land was not a forgiving landscape. I could see the drop offs in the distance, and a carriage crossing a decrepit bridge.

"Now, Kareese." Zachariah took a moment to step between me and my impending doom. "I do not wish to kill you. No, not you." He stroked a finger along my chin. "How could I? I raised you as my own. You should have been my own, loved as equally, but it's more than that. If I were to kill you here in this world, you would only come back in another life, and honestly, I don't want to go through all the preparation this took again. You're special, and I cannot forget that."

"This is the other world?" My vision and mind had cleared again. Only tiny specks of black danced in my vision.

"Yes, it's amazing, truly, depending on the time you find yourself in." Zachariah turned and looked into the portal. "Though I believe you will be in medieval times, not as nice as what we have here and now, but you're immortal. You will have the opportunity to see the wonders this other world will grow into, no doubt. So long as you survive the witch hunts." He smiled in a bittersweet manner.

"All because you are afraid to die? Jealous of what I have had the 'opportunity' to experience?"

His face darkened at my retort.

"Not enough love as a child, is it?" I had stopped caring, recognizing in this way I had lost. I did not look away.

I did not respond as he lifted his hand to strike me but watched as he held himself back from backhanding me and let out a small laugh instead. I dared to press forward. If I was going to spend my life on the other side until rescued, I wanted all the answers he would offer.

"You can't escape here, either, so what is your plan? There are others who want your head just as badly as I do. What difference does it matter if I live here or die there?" I realized the sound of Thedryk beating on the door had ceased.

Zachariah burst out in laughter. "Xavier here will help me out, won't you my good friend?"

The man named Xavier gave no response yet again, and I wondered if he had ever spoken.

"There are more who wish to live as we do, and we can use this life for good. I'm not all bad, Kareese."

"My name is Neva."

He smiled in response. "Whatever you prefer; it does not matter anymore. If you die there, it is very likely you would not be reborn again. The irony about these worlds is how intertwined the destinies are, and yours seems to have ended long ago. You are an anomaly." He paused, looking me up and down as though I were some vile creature he had caught in the kitchen. "Neva. I know you would rather wait for rescue, one that I will ensure never comes, than run that gambit."

My body had relaxed into a slump. Xavier made no motion that I was in any way an inconvenience but rather stood as the silent witness.

Zachariah turned away, looking back into the portal, and for a moment Xavier's grasp loosened, an opportunity I did not miss.

"Let's finish this up, Xavier," Zachariah stated coolly.

I slipped out of Xavier's grasp, ducked down, and kicked off from the squatted position, surprising Zachariah. He was midturn when my elbow met his midsection, knocking him back into the portal. My momentum was carrying me through the portal with him, his voice crying out in outrage and denial. Watching Zachariah fall through first was alarming; it was as if he had fallen into a lake where the water warped the reflection of the sky around his body, breaking the surface. Then, beneath that initial layer, he began falling rapidly, his arms and legs flailing. His screaming-shouts sounded as though through a distant tunnel.

My scream escaped my mouth as I began to fall through the portal, but the transition didn't feel like water. Instead, a feeling of air rushed over my face and body. Bristling cold assaulted my senses, the wind becoming as knives against my face before a sharp jolt pulled me back. The retreat sucked the air from my lungs, and I was back in the cell, no portal waiting ahead of me any longer. I turned, shaking, to see Xavier holding my right wrist and smiling.

Beyond the door behind Xavier, I heard Thedryk calling for me, distressed panic apparent in his voice.

"The Lady Neva is safe, Sir Thedryk." Xavier spoke at last, his deep voice resonating within the cell.

"Xavier?" Jonah's voice called, surprised, from just beyond the door.

Xavier stood me up straight, careful in his handling of me, and opened the beaten door to find a row of faces waiting on the other side. Relief washed over the group as Thedryk stood at the forefront, his spear still in hand and ready to attack.

"Where is Zachariah, Xavier?" Thedryk whispered. He would not relent his fierce expression.

"He is gone, to the other side."

The emphasis placed on "other" seemed to jolt Thedryk, though he did not immediately drop his guard. After a quick assessment, Thedryk softened his stance, lowering the tip of the spear, and stepped through the threshold to grab me. He pulled me into a tight embrace that forced the air from my lungs and kissed me from the top of my head to my forehead, releasing me from the panicked grip to gently hold my face and caress my cheeks with his thumbs.

"Are you insane? I could have lost you forever!"

I knew I was blushing deeply from the burning that rose in my cheeks and spread across the bridge of nose into my eyes. Blinking away the tears from my shock, I slowly raised my arms and wrapped them around his waist. Grasping his back, I pulled him in tight. "I'm sorry," I managed in a small, feeble croak.

Then I recalled Eliza and her wounds. I tore away and rushed to where I had last seen her. She still lay there, but her face was ashen. Xavier had moved to her side. He stooped down and lifted her gently; her eyes opened for a moment and they shared a brief smile.

"Not quite how I planned things to go. Where is Zachariah?"

"That is something to discuss later, Lady Eliza." Xavier turned his head towards the wall Eliza had been laid against and pressed his right fingertips upon the wall.

A doorway opened to a familiar room. It was Eliza's room, as though the door were a natural connection and nothing was out of place. This shift was different; it did not ripple as the other but seemed rather to erode the wall, giving way to a door. My memory went back to watching a sword rust over time; if I had been able to watch it elapse quickly, this would have been the same effect.

Before Xavier stepped through, he turned to the group. "I will leave this open for the next two hours. Gather what is necessary and head back before the door closes. Otherwise you will have a rather long journey back."

Eliza had not stayed awake long enough to hear the response or ensuing conversation. The place she had been resting was covered in a two-foot puddle of her blood. I tensed seeing the volume that had pooled. Vampires were not eternal, and they could die as any other creature. They just happened to be much harder to kill and could heal incredibly fast. Yet something worried me regardless of that understanding.

"Thank you, Xavier." Thedryk nodded a partial bow to Xavier who responded in kind before heading in and out of our view.

"Shall we collect the others?" Jonah inquired.

Thedryk huffed a slight sigh. "If you can. I am not so certain they will be willing to come, if they have not already deserted."

"I can't imagine they would desert just yet. They don't know how the situation with Zachariah has played out. In fact, neither do we." Piper turned to me slowly, her words matching her pace as she pressed a curious look my way.

"He's on the other side," Thedryk answered. "Right now that is all that matters, and we should also see about any documents he may have left behind, anything that can help us understand just what he was doing here and--"

"He was helping us," a voice responded from the stairwell above, startling everyone.

"Who are you, and what 'us' do you mean?" Thedryk stepped forward towards the rising steps.

A woman with blonde hair and bright green eyes was coming down the stairs. The light revealed blood covering the front of her gown and apron, as well as some along her neckline.

"Is it true, that he's gone?" The woman's body seemed entirely relaxed, as though no muscle bothered to answer to her demands.

"Who are you?" Piper stepped forward, but Jonah grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

The woman sighed, almost a sob escaping her. "Amelia will be heartbroken." She moved her hands to her face. As she pulled them away, her face revealed new smears of blood; the palms of her hands were covered as well. She swayed a moment on the stairwell, shaking her head. "I cannot keep her as I am. It's happening already. What he did to the others, I'll be just like them, and I won't be able to stop myself." The woman had wrapped her arms around herself, gripping her biceps in tight squeezes that she intermittently released. "Please, take my daughter Amelia, and keep her safe. Let her know her mother loved her very much." With that, the woman turned away and trudged back up the stairs.

Benjamin was up the stairs, stopping the woman before anyone could stop him. "You can't leave your daughter like this! Come with us, we can help you!"

The woman touched the backside of her hand, free of blood, to his cheek. "Zachariah tried to reverse the effects, but it has never worked. If he couldn't save the others, neither can you. My name is Chelsea, Amelia will ask you; she's a sharp girl. A good girl. He was raising her as his own. Making sure she got the proper education, training, everything I never had. I must go now, before it's too late--"

Alana caught the woman from behind after delivering a solid blow to the back of her head.

"We can get her back." Alana smiled to us all as Benjamin picked up the woman. The two walked through the portal before Alana called out, "Be quick. Time is running out."

"Piper, Jonah, collect all the journals you can find that Zachariah may have left behind intact. Neva and I will search for the girl, and Theresa and Luken if we can find them."

The two nodded and were up the stairs and into various cells, checking each as they went. Thedryk and I headed straight up to find the carnage left in the wake of Jonah and Piper.

They had missed a few, and those were feeding off the corpses' remains.

#

THE VAMPIRES DID not notice us at first but continued to ingest their decaying meal. Later, we deemed they could not be considered vampires as they ate the remains rather than just fed on the blood. These demons were eating the intestines, the muscles, kidneys, and such. Neither Thedryk nor I said a word; we both watched in a moment of horrific silence before Thedryk used his spear to end their existences.

We found the girl, Amelia, asleep in a locked room that proved to be Zachariah's private study. Though the girl's scent was strong in the room, we had not been able to smell her prior to entering.

Thedryk was inspecting the door and its frame. "It seems he planned to keep this girl safe no matter what came by here."

"You're saying he actually cared?"

"Enough to protect her." Thedryk picked up the sleeping girl.

She had the same hair as her mother, but hers was still vibrant with life, not seemingly dulled. I wondered if she would have the same eyes and how those would look with living, breathing life burning within rather than the hollow shell.

Thedryk passed the girl over to me. "Take her back. I'll find the others."

"And if you don't?"

"Then I will head back. It won't take me long." Thedryk had collected a few journals from within the desk and was paging through them rapidly. He took up a bag that had been set in the chair and put some of the paperwork into it. He stopped and looked at my worried expression. "I promise, I will see you shortly."

He offered a reassuring smile before I left. The child's breathing hurt my heart, reminding me of my nieces. I carefully tightened my grip, pressing her against my chest where the pain grew with every beat of my heart. As I reached the portal, I ground my teeth, holding in the mourning that had yet to be given its rightful release.

Regret

"He did a number on this place, wouldn't you say, Thedryk?" a strained voice called from the doorway.

"Luken." Thedryk was still rifling through the journals and paperwork upon the intrusion.

Luken was covered with blood, most likely his and Theresa's. "You know, I honestly believed he could have saved us. I almost made myself believe without a doubt, but here we are, and now I know better."

"What's he done, Luken? And where's Theresa?" Thedryk sensed the danger in the moment. Something was not quite right.

"You know, I remember playing in these halls as a child, growing up here. That girl, Amelia, his little pet, his special project." Luken's face was contorted into a bitter mess. "He promised Theresa and me that it would help...but it didn't do that. It's a poison." Luken's muscles twitched. "This is what he wanted, I think. It's turned out just as he wanted. He always was a clever bastard." Luken began laughing, a low chuckle that quickly emerged as a form of hysteria. His body shook all over with the laughter, bending him forward and over, and straight back up, his eyes bulging and hands and fingers locked tightly into awkward positions.

A loud snapping sound came from his shoulders and neck as he adjusted and cracked them, and then Luken burst into action. He rushed head on at Thedryk with an enhanced speed and lashed out with his sickle flying forth from the chain. Thedryk, well trained and more experienced, was able to stop the initial blows, but he could not fully dodge Theresa's scythe that jumped between, and ahead of, the sickles. The scythe caught the top of Thedryk's forearms, breaking through; blood spilled out as a stream.

The pair stopped their assault when a mace knocked Luken aside, crushing his right arm and ribcage, and a whip pulled the scythe free from Theresa's hands, planting the weapon in her head. Piper and Jonah stood behind the pair, with ominous expressions.

"Thedryk, we have to leave here, now." Jonah was intently watching the slumped pile of Luken.

"What have you done?" Thedryk cried out in shock, watching Theresa fall to her knees and land on her left side. "We don't have to kill them--"

"They're not dead, not yet. It will take more than that to kill them, and if we're lucky, they are the only two who have survived." Jonah was still watching Luken when the body began to move.

"Theresa must be--" Thedryk began to rebuff, but Theresa's body twitched.

"Trust us, we have everything we need for now. We should go. They will follow." Piper was urging Thedryk.

The nervous look in her eyes and the twitching bodies helped usher Thedryk into motion. He exited the room before them as they monitored the bodies before they, too, turned and ran. Each had their satchel filled with papers and journals, Thedryk noticed.

True to their word, Theresa and Luken were indeed following. The scythe had been removed from Theresa's head, allowing blood to flow freely from the wound and down her face. Luken struggled in his rush to keep up, his crushed arm and ribs hindering his breathing, but he did not seem to notice.

As they approached the portal, Xavier stepped out with Benjamin and Alana. All three prepared to accept the oncoming herd of bodies. Thedryk barely slowed, and Xavier used his momentum to carry him through the doorway. Yet Piper and Jonah had slowed down as they neared the bottom, making a hard stop next to Benjamin and Alana. The four engaged Theresa and Luken, knocking the pair down and disarming them. Xavier had restraints thrown over his shoulder that he quickly administered to the pair.

"What now?" Benjamin and Jonah were holding Luken in place, while Alana and Piper held Theresa.

"Lady Eliza said to place them inside, each in their own cell below." All looked to one another, uncertainty prevalent, but Xavier did not waver. "Inside." He gestured with his arm to the doorway, and they dragged their captives in reluctantly.

The girl slept soundly, and I wondered if anything could wake her. As the struggle occurred in Vesuriel castle and carried across to Eliza's room, I had placed the girl in a designated bedroom and locked the door behind me, as directed. I made my way to the room I had seen Xavier exiting, the one he verified Eliza was being cared for in. It was not her personal room, and upon entering, I found it to be incredibly bright and oddly sterile. Eliza was awake, though she still looked on death's door.

"Hello, sweetheart." She smiled from her bed; all white sheets and blankets, pillow cases and walls surrounded her, providing emphasis to her state of being.

I hesitated a moment before sitting in a chair, too white with silvered legs, next to her bedside. A small table held a bag I had never seen before with what I gathered to be blood inside feeding into her arm through tubes. Eliza turned her hand over and out to me, inviting me closer. Pulling me and the chair right next to her, she pulled my head down on the bedside and began to pet my hair.

Finally, I came undone; all my sorrow and anguish poured out of my being. There I stayed, not holding back any emotions, until I fell asleep. Finally, peace granted me my much-needed reprieve.

When I woke, Eliza was gone, though my head still rested on the bedside. Voices beyond the door caught my attention. "Does she know?"

"No, not yet." I recognized the two voices as belonging to Jonah and Thedryk.

"She should be told." A third, Piper.

"What good would it serve her to know this now?" Thedryk.

"I think we should tell her." Jonah, pressing the point. "Wouldn't you want to know?"

"We're not even certain." Thedryk was struggling.

"She's awake." Piper had peeked into the room's cracked door.

I hadn't dared to look at the door but had kept my head turned to hear their discussion better. For all my abilities, they were doing a fine job of whispering below a reasonable tone.

A disgruntled sigh escaped Thedryk before he entered the room, alone. "Good morning." He took a chair that had sat along the far wall next to a desk and placed alongside the bed where I lay. He sat and leaned close as he looked me over as a doctor would. "I trust you slept well."

"What shouldn't I know?"

Thedryk pressed his lips tightly together in response.

"If you don't tell her, then I will, Thedryk." Piper had opened the door all the way to stand just within its frame with Jonah outside.

I was surprised to see the look of anger Thedryk threw Piper's way, and he didn't relent as he spoke through gritted teeth. "We found some...disturbing notes from Zachariah's journals."

Thedryk's agitation worried me. His reluctance to tell me the truth in all he knew and understood caused a knot to bind in my throat.

"And?"

"Zachariah was our physician of sorts, our doctor. He knew the human anatomy inside and out; his knowledge was seemingly boundless. However, the vampire physiology changes our human components, such as no longer needing the food and drink we required in our human form. Zachariah was studying this and came across, by pure accident, a type of..." He struggled a moment. "He was trying out different herbs, creating medicines to allow all vampires to walk freely in daylight. As you witnessed, he was the only one of us who has been able to walk in the sunlight."

"Yes, I recall. I did not realize he was the only one, though. I had hoped--"

"Right, I should say the only one we had known of, as it turns out there are others he has documented. Some are vampires we know; others are being looked into."

"Unknown, like my...husband?" Two deaths were unbearable to consider, one being by my hands.

"Yes, it seems Zachariah was changing several humans to vampires without approval, without constraint." Thedryk was rushing the words out. It seemed a panic was welling up inside that he was losing control over.

Jonah walked in and placed a hand on Thedryk's shoulder. "He took your niece, Neva."

I blinked at the statement; it made no sense. "What?"

"He took your niece. The last entry he made before we descended upon him and his mob identified he had taken her. She is no longer human, but not yet quite a vampire." Jonah's stare was clear and direct, no trace of deception or malice, just painful truth.

"Why?" The questions I presented were simple, but the answers continued to take me farther away from the light of hope I had been appreciating.

"In case things went poorly, though it seems he did not consider that his serum would not work on all the vampires, such as Xavier."

"To what end, though? As a prisoner, bargaining piece?"

"Yes." Jonah's answer was quiet. "And possibly no. It's hard to tell, Neva, what he had planned for her, and we're trying to find where she is now."

"Thedryk I don't...I can't understand. I was certain they were both...killed..." I choked on the words.

"I thought so too, but I am sorry, Neva, I was wrong. He took her after they had taken all the...all your family outside." Thedryk's eyes were a mixture of pain and anger.

I felt nothing but a numbing sensation wash over me. "We don't know where she is, do we?"

"No." Piper stepped forward. "But we will find her, Neva. Eliza is already assembling a team."

"She needs to be resting; she needs to let us handle this." Thedryk was clenching his fists as he spoke.

"Where is she? Take me to her, now, if you will." I stood.

Piper nodded and led the way. Everything was a blur as we made our way below; the only area I recognized outside of my thoughts was the training room, and we continued one floor below that.

As we passed through the last doorway, I found a large open room, circular, with a massive centered table. Lights of various colors were lit across the room, and a map floated above the rounded table. I walked up to the replica of our lands and reached out to touch the lights. For a moment, the lights shimmered and dispersed before returning to their original form.

Eliza walked into the room from a door on the far left, others filing out behind her, Xavier at the forefront. She paused to take in the scene of Thedryk, Jonah, Piper, and me all staring back. Eliza looked fragile, as if the lightest touch would tear her down.

If the only indication of her survival had been her voice, I would have thought her to be in perfect health. "I imagine you have been informed of the situation at hand." Her voice held only affirmation and authority. "As you can see, I am already in the process of returning your niece to you, though I cannot guarantee her condition."

"How do you mean?" I felt my mouth drop open in some surprise. Her statement brought my imagination into vivid play.

"Oh." She turned her gaze on the others. "Not everything has been revealed then."

I turned on my heels in breakneck speed at the group behind me, their expressions ranging from Thedryk's sheepish, downcast eyes to Piper preparing to explain.

I blinked and raised my hand to end their immediate resolve. "I...I demanded to see you. I did not give them a chance to finish explaining, it seems." I turned back to Eliza, slowly. "So please, explain what you mean before my mind dissolves what little remains of my sanity."

Five more people had entered the room after Xavier, each holding different, roguish appearances. I took in their scent and look, each a vampire I was certain, except one human. He stood out, an eccentric manner about him.

"It seems Zachariah took a liking to your niece, Lucy. Her fervor to live after such a brutal attack made her a valuable asset, and while I cannot verify, it seems he may have used a newly formulated serum on her. It appears, based on what little notes we could gather, that this one was highly volatile, but it may have stabilized in a few key individuals. We also found in his journals that he administered the drug to Amelia." Eliza checked to see if I recognized the girl by her name before continuing. "So we have kept her under watch. It seems she was highly compatible with the drug, so she is not entirely vampire, but not entirely human, either."

"Is she like the others we encountered?" I feared the image of children turning predators, eating the innards of their victims. I could not begin to imagine my twelve-year-old niece eating another human being.

"Not at all. She has been eating food as a regular human being as far as we can tell, but with the benefits of a vampire. We are still testing her abilities."

I sighed in relief, but only to a certain extent. "I want to help search for Lucy." I began to steel my resolve but was immediately stopped.

"No, I do not believe that would provide any positive results, Neva." Eliza was firm, but her expression showed some guilt in denying me my request. "There is much you must learn before we can let you venture out in such a search. Our recent escapade showed you may have the physical aptitude to defend yourself, but there is plenty left to teach you here. This team I have assembled," she referenced to the row of men standing behind her, "are the very best to find Lucy. Sir Abraham Van Helsing will be leading the search."

The human smiled politely as he stood with his arms crossed, a revolver and knife peeking out from his coat on each hip.

"A human leading vampires?" I couldn't help the question that seemed so obvious to ask.

"Is there a problem, miss?" Van Helsing leaned forward a little from his stance, his voice an accent unknown to me in such a proper manner. "I can guarantee you of my abilities to track vampires, let alone to find your niece."

His smile widened, making me uncomfortable, and I recognized it made the others all the more distressed.

"Mr. Van Helsing is indeed the best, Neva." Eliza kept her sharp eyes on the man. "He even has his own personal experience with Zachariah, so he is our best chance at finding Lucy."

I only nodded in response, not taking my eyes off the man and his wide-brimmed hat.

"What of the others? Luken and Theresa? Were they found?"

The room fell silent a moment, even Helsing casting his eyes away.

"They have been, and they will be dealt with in time."

"Dealt with how? So they were with Zachariah?"

"Yes, but only after you left here to go see your family, it seems."

I contemplated her words carefully. "Have they told you why they chose to side with Zachariah?"

"They are not in a capacity to explain themselves, I'm afraid."

"Zachariah had them take the first serum," Jonah responded dully.

"Benjamin and Alana are keeping guard over them for now. They are safe, and we are working on undoing the damage Zachariah has caused...if we can." Eliza was pressing along the table, and the image changed from the floating map to images from within the cells holding the two, separately. Each was restrained but thrashing violently. Their cells were padded along the walls, but those pads had been shredded, revealing stone walls behind.

"As you can see, conversation would mean little to either of them at the moment."

My gaze shifted from the two to Xavier. I had leaned forward and pressed my hands against the table that gave way to subtle vibrations that hummed through my senses with a warmth at my fingertips. "Did he not administer the same to you, Xavier?"

"He did," Xavier admitted, causing me to press down upon the unyielding table.

"We don't know why it did not affect Xavier, but we will with time. Second to Zachariah in medical knowledge was Thedryk." Eliza turned her gaze upon Xavier. "We're all just thankful it did not, otherwise Neva would be in that other world, and Zachariah roaming freely in this one."

"I promise, Neva, I will do everything in my power to find the cure." Thedryk's countenance was firm.

I offered a slight smile and nod. I had been holding my breath more each time we spoke. I exhaled slowly, realizing the build-up as I considered my options. "When do we start?"

#

FROZEN. THE EARTH beneath his back and skull was frozen solid; nothing gentle or kind remained in the world he awoke to. The man blinked away the snowflakes that fell and stuck to his skin. He had no cloak to warm him, but he could survive the cold. His mind was shooting off synapses, telling the rest of his body that it ached, that it hungered, that he had to start moving or else he would never return home. Where was home, though? He tried to recall his life, any memories, even his name. Nothing volunteered itself, but he recognized knowing things, peculiar things, it seemed to his unknown self. The location he found himself was not his home, not his world. He was certain he did not belong...

A voice was calling out beyond a row of trees directly before him; heavy blankets of snow were weighing the branches down. The man took note of all that was around him, a river just behind him, mountains surrounding, a castle in the distance, trees ahead. A man broke through the tree line; the comrades the man was calling to were farther off still.

The two men noted each other, similar height, eye to eye. The man who had broken through the tree line suddenly drew a longsword, casting uncertain glances at the man closer to the river bank, and thrust it at him.

Rather than turn and run, the fallen man burst into movement, diving straight into the attacker. He was faster, and stronger, he realized. Too fast. Instinct had him latch onto the man's neck, and he began to drink the other man's blood. He did not release the man, who had not fought back, until he was sated and the man's heart stopped. The dead man hit the frozen ground with a thud as voices called out once more. The living man stepped back towards the river, his hands shaking. He realized what he had done and felt revulsion wash over him, yet another part felt it was only a natural process that he longed for again. He saw no blood on him nor the other man; the sword was still gripped tightly in his tanned hands.

"Highness." The voices had drawn closer, but the man knew they were still some distance off. He turned to the river and looked down only to see the face of the man he had just murdered. In a moment of panic, he turned to find the open sky above him; the body still lay where it had been left. Looking back, he recognized it was his reflection; he and the dead man shared the same face and features.

"Highness?" There was an edge of concern to the voices that called out, and they were much nearer than before. The man looked once more into the reflection of the partially frozen river and back to the body. He cringed at the thought but moved upon his plan regardless. Survival was key, and he felt deeply that he must live. There was something he needed to remember that was vital, that was unfinished. After stripping the man down, he changed clothes. He lifted the corpse with little effort and threw it directly into the center where the water was still flowing smoothly. Part of the ice broke away from where it had been building its icy bridge, the noise echoing into the clear open sky.

The man quickly folded his own clothes and tucked them inside the cloak he wore, fur lined and a deep crimson.

"Lord Vlad." Two men appeared from behind the trees, apparently out of breath as they gasped for air. The warmth from their breath puffed out white clouds into the cold and rose into oblivion. "We found the last of them."

#

# About the Author:

Mikayla Elliot is an avid reader and writer of fantasy novels. She is a single parent to two beautiful children and their rambunctious corgi, Sheila, living in Austin, Texas. When Mikayla isn't creating new worlds and adventures she spends her time working as a Planner in the energy industry, which has unveiled various landscapes in multiple states for site visits. Mikayla holds a Bachelor's in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, and feels the debt deep in her soul and pockets.

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