(LIB:I) Chapter 25

Gabrielle was given an urn with Kailin's ashes inside, she had decided to return home to be alone. Yet, Lucas could not allow her to go without a guardian. He kissed his wife goodbye for the night, and Khaldun promised to watch over her. Both Lucas and Gabrielle walked down the sidewalk to the apartment full of memories. The return was slow, as if they were walking in slow motion as the world past around them. Eva's hopelessness had made the pain all the more real.

When they entered the apartment, Gabrielle placed the urn on the table next to the door. Neither of them had spoken to each other since she had argued with him about coming home with her. Sitting on the couch they both stared at the television's blackness.

A moment past and Gabrielle let out a small cry and then caught it before it became anymore.

"I will not think less of you, if you cried, Gabrielle." Lucas told her as she rubbed her eyes with her hands.

"I don't want to cry, Kailin didn't cry. She never cried…" She stopped herself from crying again with a small gag. "You know I always thought I would be the first to die out of the two of us. She would come to save me from something I got myself into to and I would end up dead." The tears started to roll down her face, "I wanted it to happen that way, I needed it to. I am not strong enough to deal with pain that Kailin could."

"Kailin just dealt with it in a different way." Lucas put his arm around her shoulder.

Gabrielle shook her head, "She killed her own sister, I could of never of done that. It hurt her and I know it did, but… she did it. She did what was right." Her face fell into her hands and she continued to cry.

"I thought she could heal those wounds, I don't understand why she died from them. It doesn't make any sense, Halloweds die from fire."

"Halloweds die if they choose to die also." Gabrielle mumbled when she looked up to him.

"Choose to die? They can just say they don't want to live anymore and die."

Gabrielle shook her head, "They can be injured and choose not to heal themselves. But they have to be severely depressed to be able to control healing like that." She wiped the tears from her eyes, "She had to of let them break her body as well, and I don't understand why she would of. Kailin wasn't afraid of them, and she wanted to live, I know it!"

"Calm down, Gabrielle." Lucas pulled her closed to him. "We should rest."

"I can't sleep…" A knock came to the door.

Lucas stood up, and walked to answer it. He was afraid that it might be Damon, but as he got closer he felt the presence of a Hallowed behind it. Opening the door, a strange man with black hair pulled into a pony tail stood in front of him. His face was soft and his eyes dark.

"I would like to speak with Lady Gabrielle." He spoke with a friendly voice.

Lucas looked over at Gabrielle as she stood up, her expression told him that she didn't know who the man was either.

"May I enter?" The man finally asked, and Lucas stepped aside. His eyes fell on the red head behind the couch, "Lady Gabrielle, you do not know me, but I know you well enough." The friendliness of his voice disappeared, "It is good to finally meet you, I have often wondered when this would happen if at all. I just wish it wasn't because of Caitlyn's death that I was able to."

"You knew, Kailin?" Gabrielle asked and then offered him a seat on the couch.

The man sat down, "No, I never knew Kailin. I did however know Caitlyn."

"I don't understand the difference." Gabrielle sat down beside him, and Lucas sat down beside her.

He frowned, "You see, I never knew her as Kailin. For she was Caitlyn Bramwell, a duchess when I knew her. She was my wife."

Gabrielle grabbed her chest, "Are you…"

"I am Nathaniel Bramwell."

"That's impossible."

A tear seemed to be holding back in his eyes, "Had I known then what I know now, believe me when I say I would not be standing here with you today. For once again, I am without what I have lived and died for."

"But…"

"Allow me to explain, Lady Gabrielle." He held up his hand, stopping her from continuing. "I attempted to kill myself only to be turned by my master, before the poison was able to work. He had taken pity on me because of my love for Caitlyn, and refused to allow me to die like the prophecies said I would have to."

"Who is your master?" Gabrielle already knew, she had suspected it the moment he told her who he was.

"Mathias."

"Why are you here now?" Lucas asked, a little suspicious of the situation.

"The reason I was kept a secret was because I was not suppose to live if Caitlyn was to be successful. You see, had I been alive when she returned to England she would of never gotten the notion to transform her sister, or even knew another vampire was turning her. Mephis had to be made, they were the tamest of the prophecies." He cleared his throat, "The moment that Caitlyn died, Mathias came clean to Eva. She told him that I would be permitted to enter vampire society. I came here immediately… to speak with you, Lady Gabrielle."

"Why me?" Gabrielle looked into his dark eyes.

He smiled, "I wanted to thank you. You allowed Caitlyn to stay so strong for such a long time. I have also come to get to know who and what my love had become and what the truth was."

"The truth about what?" Gabrielle asked.

"I feel ridiculous asking this, as a Hallowed One, we are taught to suppress our emotions, but never the less. Do you know, did she love me?"

"Did she love you?"

"Ever?"

Gabrielle grinned sadly, "Oh, dear Nathaniel, I feel as if I know you myself. You were always on her mind, always in her heart. She loved you until the moment she past, and I have no doubt that she loves you still even in the embrace of the Higher Being." Her eyes looked down, "She probably misses you knowing now that you are not with her in his embrace. That actually gave me a little comfort when I watched her die."

"Thank you, Lady Gabrielle, you have no idea how much that means coming from someone who knew Caitlyn so deeply. I have spent my vampire years trying to know, trying to decide."

"Decide what?"

"Whether or not waiting for us to be elders would be another heart break. All I ever wanted was for her to love me, it was all I required. I would of given up everything I owned, everything I was, just to hear her say it."

"I know it means less coming from me, but she did say it to me many times. The words were spoken even if they were not within your ears."

Nathaniel smiled, "I must do all that I can to continue her work, and help the elders in this time." He stood from his seat. "I am sorry for your loss." Nathaniel said to both Gabrielle and Lucas.

"I am sorry for yours, as well." Gabrielle stood up with him.

"Mine happened a long time ago, it is truly not a new feeling to me." He grinned and walked towards the door.

Gabrielle walked with him, "Nathaniel, I feel as if I know you. Kailin thought about you often, and after two hundred years of hearing about you…"

He smiled, "Yes, Mathias felt the same way about her. I often spoke to him about it, even more so now, because he was actually spending time with her." Gabrielle couldn't of been sure, but she thought she heard jealousy in his voice.

"What I am trying to say is if you ever need to talk or just have a friend, please feel free to stop by. Kailin was my friend for so long, I don't know what I am going to do without her."

He nodded, "I know what you speak of. When I lost her the first time, sometimes I could hear her foot steps in the hallway, or smell a hint of her perfume."

"But it past?"

A frown covered his face, "I am afraid it never did, her memory still haunts me. Caitlyn's essence stays with those that she has touched, at least it has for me."

She looked rather ill with that news, "She'll come back, she has to come back."

"I'll make a deal with you, Lady Gabrielle. You keep saying that and I shall keep wishing it, and maybe just maybe it will come true."

She smiled slightly, "Please, come back again. Alright?"

"I can think of no one else I would rather grieve with." He stepped out into the hallway, "She loved you too, you know?"

A single tear rolled down her cheek, "Yeah, I know." She shut the door and turned the look at Lucas.

"I didn't like him." He said.

She ignored him and sat herself down next to him on the couch. "Lucas, what do you think about this vampire business?"

"What do you mean?"

"I always believed in reincarnation, that love of friends, siblings, and lovers never leave us. That they always come back to us in the next love. Tonight has shook my belief. Do you think we are evil? Creations of the devil? I mean our books say that we are all creatures of the Higher Being and when we die our aura returns to our soul in heaven. Do you think…"

"Do I think that Kailin is in heaven?"

"Yes."

The look of intent thought sat on his face, "With any luck, Kailin will be reborn tomorrow and in no time at all she will return as our friend."

"I told her before all this happened that I would always be there for her. How could I of let her down?"

"Gabrielle, you didn't know. I am sure the last thing Kailin is thinking about where ever she is, is that you let her down, because you didn't. Nor have you ever."

"She was like my sister and my mentor, everything I am I thank her for." Gabrielle's eyes filled with tears and she began to cry, "Why? Oh God, why did she die? She wasn't suppose to die, none of the prophecies said she was going to. She was going to live to be an elder."

He put his arm around her, "I guess sometimes even the Higher Being changes his mind."

"It hurts, it hurts so much. I can barely take it any longer, I just want it all to stop. I want… I want to take it all back. Every moment I have known her, I want to take it all back."

Lucas grinned, "No, you don't. It's worth the pain, isn't it?"

Gabrielle sniffled.

Rubbing her shoulders, he kissed the top of her head, "I know, but we have to go on. Mourning is only natural, Gabrielle, but living every day like that is not. You have to pick yourself off the ground and dust yourself off and start fighting again."

"It's what Kailin would want me to do, right?"

He nodded.

The sound of glass crashing to the ground suddenly interrupted their conversation. Both Gabrielle and Lucas shot up from the couch and turned to the window in the dining room. A Mephis entered the room through the broken glass, kicking it as he came to stand in front of them.

Gabrielle recognized the vampire immediately, her jaw dropped. "Anthony?"

He smiled and looked around the room then ran towards the urn, scooping it up in his hands. When he turned to leave several Mephis came through the window, as she pulled Lucas into Kailin's bedroom, locking the door behind her.

"Oh, shit." She muttered to herself under the bed.

"We should fight, they are nothing but minions." Lucas told her.

"No, we need to try and get away. Minions or not, Mephis are nothing that we want to deal with alone."

---***---

Leila stood near the thrones, her blonde hair flowing over the long dark red dress she had chosen to wear. Her eyes followed the minions around the room as they prepared for the ceremony. Each one carefully bringing buckets of water into the room and pouring it into the pit in front of her. A young one stumbled towards her and lost it's footing, sending it flying forward and into the pit full of holy water. The bucket of water spilt onto the ground and Leila stepped up on the elevated floor to get away from it. Steam rose from the water as the minion melted into nothing. The pit earlier had been her fiery birthplace, now it would serve a higher purpose.

It was quite the ordeal getting holy water especially since they were Mephis. Yet, even men of god can be easily frightened, and several were preparing the holy water in another room. Each bucket had to be made in a very special way that most mortals didn't know any longer. Normal holy water by the mortals of today couldn't harm any type of vampire, not like the days when Leila walked the earth.

Her eyes shifted to the entry way, as Anthony entered the room. He immediately looked at the water that covered the floor. "Get one of the humans to clean that up." He ordered a minion that was passing by him with a bucket. The small gray beast scurried out of the room to fulfill his master's wish.

Leila paid more attention to the urn in his hands, and she smiled as he placed it on the throne behind her. "You have done well, my love."

"It seems that she died in the Ancient's Plane, I am surprised that they would even allow her ashes to leave it."

"How do you know she died there?"

He smiled, "Even some Halloweds would prefer to be on the winning side, and help us even now."

Samuel stood quiet in the corner of the room, his arms folded against his body. He said nothing as he stared into the holy water, unaware that some of it had reached his feet. It took him a moment before he walked towards Anthony to question him about what they were preparing to do. He felt they were making a worse mistake then the Elders had.

"Are we sure the time is right?" Samuel asked as he came to stand beside his master.

"The elders have done this, they made the time right. It was foreseen that their own fear would bring us to victory." Anthony took a step forward to stand next to his beloved, and noticed the water prints that Samuel had left behind with his feet. He spoke nothing of it, and had often seen Samuel defy the laws of the Mephis. "In making her stronger, they only empowered Marekio. He was allowed to step forward and in doing so help us. He hide her aura within the weaker soul, causing her to not heal herself. Now that she has died, there will be no aura within her body. She will run purely on her demonic soul, and will guide us to greatness."

Leila smiled, "A brilliant plan, I am impressed that you thought of it."

"Bring the priests into here. The pit is full enough, it's time for the ceremony to begin." Anthony ordered Samuel, and watched him step through the holy water to get to the hall.

"How is he able to do that?" Leila asked as Anthony put his arm around her.

"I am not sure. I have never seen him in his Mephis form, yet one can sense that he is not Hallowed. He defies the very laws of nature that have been given to us." Anthony bit his lower lip, "Do not worry, my dear. Samuel is but a tool to anchor Kailin into staying on our side, if she needs a reason. Even a demon understands and remembers love."

Leila nodded as the priests entered the room, they placed themselves around the pit. Kailin had not been awake during this process for Leila's rebirth, and had only bled into the fire. It would take some time before her demonic soul was ready to answer their prayers.

Both Leila and Anthony sat on their thrones, awaiting for the demon to come. Samuel stood silently in the corner watching as the priests bowed and sing their hymns calling out to the demon. His eyes were cold, but inside he felt angry with all that had occurred. There was nothing that could be done now, he had chosen a side, or rather a side had chosen him. He looked at Anthony who sat grinning with Kailin's urn in his lap. He wondered if Anthony thought he could actually control her. After her rebirth, she would be the Mephis Queen, he wasn't so conceited to think that Kailin would allow him to continue his rule.