Kailin touched her forehead with her fingertips, running them from one temple to the other. Her head hadn’t hurt this bad since she was a human. After a few moments of enduring the throbbing pain, she became aware of the bulk of weight on the corner of her bed. Her eyes wandered down to Mathias’ large form, his hand on the bed post as padding for his head. His dark brown eyes were closed, and he was breathing heavily. Kailin grinned, an instinct of being human still continued within his sleep thousands of years after his death.
  Sitting up slightly, she shook the bed, and Mathias’ eyes shot open and turned to her. He watched her rub her eyes for a moment, and then returned her fingers to her aching head.
  “Are you feeling alright?” He asked, placing his hand on her knee and then quickly removing it.
  “I’m not exactly sure.” Her words were a whisper, “I don’t understand what is happening to me, but…”
  “Your aura and soul are fighting for control, and when you get upset it gives your soul better access.” He sighed, he was about to betray everything that he had sworn to uphold. “Kailin, I believe I have much to confess to you, and I don’t know where I should begin.”
  She looked up at him, “Start with where you were when I came to America.”
  Mathias rose his eyebrow questioningly.
  “I always noticed you when I was younger, and to catch a glimpse of your shadow made me feel safe. When I came to America, you didn’t come with me, and when I returned to my sister, you weren’t there.”
  Mathias looked down at the dark wood floor, “I was ordered to destroy you.”
  The room laid silent for a moment, and then Kailin cleared her throat.
  “You were too emotional, and we couldn’t afford to have you as the guardian.”
  “Kill me, though? But I thought…”
  He shook his head before she could finish, “You weren’t the first. In my lifetime, you were the third. The first was turned into a bowery, and I was told to slaughter her. The second was born a male, and Tzion swore this was a mistake, and again I killed the guardian.” He swallowed as he thought of his next words, “But when I was ordered to destroy you, I knew the reason was unacceptable. I knew that if I could lose you until you created the Mephis, that I wouldn’t be able to kill you.”
  “So, you weren’t protecting me?”
  He shook his head, “I was, but that wasn’t my main reason for following you around. My purpose was to keep you alive, but only until the time came to execute you or you progressed the prophecies.”
  Kailin nodded, causing her head to begin it’s throbbing again.
  His eyes remained fixed on the ground, “I knew of your flight plans to America. When you slipped out of your home that night, I was going to follow you into the woods, and take care of you within the darkness.” His lips opened slightly as if he were going to say more, then closed while he thought for another moment. “I remember you running and it had just stopped raining, the ground was wet and their were leaves everywhere. You slipped on a pile of leaves, and hit your head on a tree. I don’t think you understood then, that you healed at abnormal speed, because you propped yourself up against the tree and sat there.”
  He looked at Kailin out of the corner of his eyes, she remained silent as she listened to his story. “I was going to destroy you then, but as I stepped forward, you began to cry. Not in pain or frustration, but in fear of yourself. I realized then as I listened to your thoughts, that I had heard a thousand times, that I missed something. You weren’t running away because you were afraid of what you had become, but afraid of what you might do to those you loved. You were protecting your family, and I knew then that it would be against everything that I was to take your life. So, for the first time in my existence, I disobeyed my master.”
  “Tzion?” Kailin asked, she had thought that they were bonded somehow, but was uncertain.
  He nodded, “I told the high elders that you had snuck away in the night, while I was fighting off a group of Bowery. Tzion knew it was a lie, and had it not been for Eva, he would of severely punished me. She had me try to search you out, by getting any information I could from your family.”
  Kailin looked to her right at the make-up desk, she could see her reflection in the large mirror that rested on it. “So, you were the strange man that my sister said visited Nathaniel often.”
  “Yes. I become his friend, and all our conversations were held in private. Your sister was the only person to interrupt us, just before she fell ill.”
  “She didn’t fall ill, she was being poisoned!” Kailin shouted, snapping her head to look at Mathias. She then covered her mouth. “I’m sorry.”
  “It’s the truth, no need to apologize for it.”
  “What is your business with me now?” Kailin asked, wanting to take the subject off her sister.
  “To protect you from enemies you don’t yet know you have.”
  “Like you?”
  He looked over at her, his eyes wide with shock. “Me?”
  “You, Tzion, Akela, and Khaldun.” She watched his eyes return to normal.
  “I didn’t know you remembered that I was part of it.”
  She ran her hands over her face several times, “I… I don’t remember it as a memory of my own. Well, it is my memory, but…” She couldn’t find the words to explain what she meant.
  “You remember it as my memory, don’t you? Seeing it through my eyes.”
  “Yes. You didn’t protect me from that.”
  “When it came to me, I had to make a choice…”
  She nodded, “I understand, but you must understand that I have seen the same through Tzion’s eyes. He doesn’t wish me any harm. The two of you within my head, I am not sure which one is helping me or helping themselves.”
  “There is nothing that I can do to prove myself, except go on the way we have been.” Mathias stood up. “I must take my leave now, I am certain that Lycorisa and Jareth have grown tired of waiting for me.”
  She watched him take his steps towards the door. “What of Khaldun and Akela?”
  He didn’t turn to look at her, “Akela is much older and stronger then I am. Her mind abilities were stronger as a fresh then mine are now. Eva has forbid her to read my mind without permission, but she can take control of my mind to make my body motionless at her leisure.” He waited for a reply, but she remained silent. “Good day, Kailin.”
  “Goodbye.” She said, when the door shut behind him.

  Standing on the top stair, he looked up at the large brick building. The neighborhood seemed vacant. Across the street was an old tire yard and he could hear dogs barking from behind the chain fence, that was reinforced with plywood boards.
  Some of the buildings’ windows were reinforced in the same way, and it seemed most of the buildings were. The torn, weather worn notice of the door told that it had been condemned a couple years before. But this was the address that Tzion had written down. He stared at the many spirals of the man’s handwriting, as they made out the name of the attempted murderer of his father.
  Lucas didn’t even understand why he was here. He wasn’t entirely certain that Tzion had been telling the truth, and what exactly did he need from this man. There was nothing else that he could go home to. By the end of the month he wouldn’t have an apartment anymore, and what money he had left, he was using to pay for institutionalizing his father.
  He took a deep breath, he had never been an undercover detective, and wasn’t sure how he should go about this. Raising his hand, he knocked gently on the door. There was no answer, which brought instant relief to his pounding heart.
  “May I help you?” A deep voice from behind him.
  Lucas turned to look into Damon’s eyes. Two scars on his right cheek, and one of his left. They looked like he had been scratched long ago. His hair was a light gray and wildly twitched in the cold wind. A dark brown jacket, jeans, and brown boots made him look more like a woodsman.
  “Damon Anderson?”
  He jerked his head forward and back, which Lucas could only assume was a nod.
  “I’m… well… I’m…”
  “Stark.” Damon answered, “Your father was James Stark.”
  Lucas wasn’t sure how to answer that, but he remembered Tzion told him to be as truthful as possible. “Yes, he is.”
  “Is? I didn’t know that he was still alive.” He coughed and covered his mouth with his left fist. His face began to turn red with the furiousness of the cough.
  “Are you alright?”
  He nodded while coughing, and then cleared his throat. “What is it I can do for you? I have not broken any laws, and I do no appreciate to be harassed. My probation officer allowed me to move out here.”
  “No, that is not why I am here.” Lucas looked across the street at the tire yard, as a black dogs nose stuck out through a hole in the plywood. “I’ve come to learn.”
  “Learn?” Damon chuckled, “Learn what?”
  “How to hunt them.”
  He knew what Lucas meant, but seemed to be uneasy about the whole thing.
  “I am not trying to get you locked up again. I was actually fired from the force, because one of the blood suckers killed my partner. I couldn’t tell them what it was, because I didn’t know…but I do now.”
  Damon’s haunting eyes continued to stare at him, “Come.” He waved him over, and they walked behind the building to a cellar door. He pulled a large ring of keys from his pocket and unlocked the latch.
  Opening the door, he allowed Lucas to walk down the unsteady wooden stairs first. Lucas placed his hands on the narrow hallways’ paint chipped walls to ease his descension . He looked back when the sunlight stopped shining on him as the cellar door shut. He was afraid he had been locked down there, but Damon only locked it from the inside.
  “Go down.” He ordered.
  When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked at a gathering room. The chairs were stacked to the sides of the small stage. Damon walked into the middle of the room, and pointed in front of him.
  “Alanna!” Damon yelled.
  Lucas saw the dark haired woman come down the stairs to the right of the stage. Her skin was pale, her hair and eyes dark. She had a small, charming mole above her upper lip, and wore a white robe. She smiled at Lucas as he stared at her.
  “Yes, master?” She asked from across the room.
  Damon held up his index finger telling her to wait a moment, his eyes went back to Lucas. “Take off your clothes.”
  “What?” Lucas squeaked.
  “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
  Lucas cleared his throat, as he began to take off his jacket. He held it over to Damon for him to take.
  “Throw it on the ground.” Damon ordered.
  Lucas did as he was told, and pulled off his shirt, shoes, socks, and pants.
  “Your underwear too.” Damon said.
  He looked over at the woman standing near the stair case, and back at Damon. “Come on, man.”
  “You have nothing that she hasn’t seen before, take them off.”
  Lucas pulled off his white boxers and dropped them on the pile to his right, then covered himself with his hands. He hadn’t felt this embarrassed since showering with the other boys in high school.
  Damon began to walk around him, checking him for wires, Lucas assumed. “Alanna, take his clothes and burn them. Except for his personals.”
  She bowed her head and walked over to scoop up his clothes, as she bent down Lucas looked down at her. She smiled at him, before standing up and walking back to the stairs.
  “Bring down a robe for him, before you begin.”
  “Yes, master.” She bowed and began up the stairs.
  “She’s my eighteenth wife, do you like her?” Damon asked.
  “Sorry?”
  Standing in front of Lucas, he smiled. “Do you find Alanna attractive?”
  “She is a lovely woman.”
  He nodded and grinned. Pulling on Lucas’ hair, he twisted his head to check in his ears. “Open your mouth.”
  Lucas did as he was told.
  “Alright, you are obviously not wired.”
  Alanna returned with the white robe in her hand, she offered it to Lucas. He snatched it away with one hand and pulled it on.
  “Anything else, master?” She asked.
  Damon shook his head, “No, go back upstairs.”
  Lucas watched her disappear up the stairs, and then turned his eyes back to Damon. “Are you going to teach me?”
  “No.” Damon answered.
  “What the hell was this all about then?”
  “You already know everything there is to know about vampire hunting. You have that inborn ability, all I can do is help you strengthen, enhance, and understand these abilities. Everyone else in this building had ancestors who defiled their blood.
  “Defiled their blood?”
  He nodded, “They either don’t have the gene or it’s so diluted that they wouldn’t even be able to take on a bowery by themselves. You on the other hand, have a very strong gene, just like your father. You will be my protégé. I am too old, and by the time my children are born, I won’t be able to teach them. If I teach you, you must promise me to teach them everything.”
  “You have children on the way?”
  Damon nodded.
  “Then I give my word.”
  The old man smiled, “I will introduce you as my son later tonight to the rest of the group.” He thought for a moment, “You will need to breed as well.”
  “Well, I don’t think we need to worry about that.”
  Damon laughed, “It must always be the first thing on your mind, there are vampires out there who want nothing more then to kill us. We must keep our blood line going.” His laughter had turned into anger. “If you want me to help you, then you must follow me unquestioningly, understand?”
  “Yes, I am sorry. I am naïve to these ways.”
  “As my son, I will give you one of my women to start you off.” He looked at the stairs, “Alanna!”
  “Wait, huh?”
  The dark haired girl came down the stairs, “Yes, master?”
  “You belong to Lucas, my son, now.”
  She bowed her head.
  “Wait, you…”
  Damon rose his hand, “I haven’t used her if that is what you worry about. She was a gift from her father to me only a few days ago. She is very obedient and I am sure she’ll please you.”
  “Is there anything I can do for you, master?” She asked Lucas.
  “Uh.” He looked at Damon.
  “Go back upstairs, tell Neil to remove himself from the room. It is for my son.”
  She bowed and ran up the stairs.
  “Why are you being so accepting of me?”
  Damon grinned, “You treat the people that you trust. I know I can make you into a great vampire hunter. But you will need the pleasures of home to off set the torment you will be going through for the next few months.”

  The house was painted an off-white, and a small porch began the entry way. It wasn’t far from Tzion‘s mansion, but it wasn’t in the city either. She opened the metal gate and heard the squeak of an un-greased hinge. The sound sent shivers down her spine, as she headed towards the door, leaving the gate open. The grass was dead, and the bushes bare. But she hadn’t expected him to take care of his lawn.
  Lifting her hand she used the door knocker to send the noise of her presence through the house. When she was done, her hand dropped to her side, and some paint chips from the door dropped onto the porch. Her eyes looked down at the porch, it had been painted and was now chipping.
  The sound of someone behind the door, made her look up as it was opened. Lycorisa wearing a pair of jeans, a light blue sweater, and socks stared out at the porch at the hooded woman.
  “Leave him alone, Akela.” Lycorisa snapped immediately.
  Pulling her hood back, Akela allowed her black hair to escape the confines of the hood. “If I didn’t have more important things to do, I would crush your mind for speaking to me in that tone. Now, move to the side.” She pushed Lycorisa to the side, and stepped in.
  Helpless, Lycorisa shut the door, and looked at Akela. The elder rubbed her fingers across the hand railing of the stairs, she looked at her fingers as she rubbed them together. The inside looked much better then the out, wooden panel walls, floor, and stairs all seemed to be newly polished. “What a quaint little house.”
  “I am sorry that it’s not up to par.” Lycorisa’s words tried to be sympathetic, but Akela knew she was being sarcastic again.
  “Tell me, Lycorisa, how does it feel to live with a man, love that very same man, and yet all he uses you for is your abilities?” Akela meant Mathias.
  “You of all people should know how that feels, Akela.”
  She spun around, “How dare you speak of such things.” Bringing up her right hand, she slapped Lycorisa.
  Bent over, she recovered from the slap, and looked into the dark eyes of Akela. “Fortunately for me, the man I love desires women, so at least I still have a chance.”
  Akela went to raise her hand again, but felt a tight grip around her wrist.
  “If you hit her again…” Mathias’ voice said, he didn’t have to finish. Truth be known, he was glad he didn’t. There wasn’t much he could do to Akela, before she could control his mind and put his attempts to a halt.
  Turning around, Mathias let her wrist slide out of his hand. “Just who I needed to speak with.”
  He looked at Lycorisa, “Weren’t you getting us water?” He asked her, and with that she disappeared towards the kitchen. His attention went back to Akela.
  “I wouldn’t expect you to live in a place like this.” Akela said, and then looked up at the white ceiling.
  “I wouldn’t expect you to come near a neighborhood like this.”
  She grinned, “Normally, I wouldn’t. Rather dingy for a woman of my stature.”
  “I thought I heard you call it quaint.” He folded his arms.
  “I was just trying to be nice. I know how sensitive Lycorisa can be.”
  He sighed, “What is it that you want?”
  Lycorisa walked by with a tray of water, Akela snatched up a glass while she headed down the hall. She held the glass up to the sunlight that the window let in, looking the water up and down, she pressed her lips together. After she decided on the water purity, she placed the cup on the stand next to the stairs.
  “I am playing the part of messenger until Kristian gets well again.” She pulled off her gloves and shoved them in her pocket. Heading towards her left, she looked into the living room. The couch and loveseat were white with blue vertical strips. Akela stuck up her nose at them.
  “Are you here to snoop around or actually give a message?”
  She turned back around and looked the tall, dark haired man over. “Tzion has ordered that you not speak with Kailin again. You have caused to much trouble, and explained far to much to her. As a matter of a fact, after the convention, you aren’t allowed to see her again.”
  “It’s my job to protect her, that order comes from Eva.” Mathias leaned against the railing with his arms still crossed.
  “Yes, well, at a distance. He decided that after you stood there and did nothing while Kristian was being attacked…”
  “Is this what this is about? His precious lover is injured and I couldn’t save him in time.”
  Akela rose a lip, “Kristian is not his lover, do not speak of Tzion in such a manner.”
  “Do not tell me what Tzion is and isn’t. I lived with him for two hundred years, and I was created by him. I know damn well what kind of man he is.”
  Her head looked down and stared at the floor below, “Mathias, you will not fully understand pain until the moment you speak to me like that again or talk of Tzion like that. I will…”
  “Do nothing, I will go to Eva if you finish your threat, Akela. You forget that you are not part of the prophecies and can be easily disposed of.” He stood up straight, “You have delivered your message, and may leave now.”
  “I don’t need your permission to leave.”
  “It wasn’t permission, it was an order.”
  Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her gloves. “You pray that when all this is over that one of us has fallen. If not, I will be waiting to end what ever miserable life you have left.”
  Mathias reached over to the door knob as she walked to it, and opened the door for you. “Good day, Akela.”
  Without a word, she headed out onto the porch and the door shut behind her.
  Mathias turned to look at Lycorisa standing in the hall. “It is not your place to speak to Akela the way you did. She is a powerful, intelligent being, and deserves to be treated as such.”
  “You back talk her all the time.” Lycorisa retorted.
  “As an elder yourself, you should be aware of the ways. I will not have you disrespect her again, understand?”
  She nodded, and as he walked down the hall to the library, she decided to ask the question that had been on her mind. “Where is Khaldun?”
  Mathias stopped in front of the library door, “He is no longer a part of this group.”
  “He told me what happen when he left the apartment. You did the same thing, and yet you haven’t out casted yourself.”
  “I had no choice.”
  “Neither did he.”
  Mathias sighed, and opened the door, stepping into the hallway, allowing Lycorisa to remain in silence in the hall.

  Kailin stepped into a long black dress with thin shoulder straps. The right side of the dress had a slit that came up to her mid thigh. Her hair was already done in a mess of curls atop of her head, that spiraled down around her face. Looking into the mirror, she thought about the week before and of Kristian. She wasn’t even sure if Tzion was still going to pick her up, but she decided to be ready anyway.
  She admitted to herself that she wasn’t quite sure why she wanted to go. Something just called to her now, and the thought of being able to pick his brain, after what Mathias had told her was too good to resist.
  Taking a deep breath, she began to dig in her closest for a pair of shoes. Sitting on the bed, she pulled on a pair of black stilettos, then placed a diamond charm necklace on. Grabbing her diamond earrings from the make-up stand, she stepped out into the living room.
  “Not going!” Gabrielle snapped, still wearing her bathroom robe and sitting on the couch with the remote control in her hands. Her dark red locks flew everywhere, and Kailin grinned looking at her friend’s fall from grace.
  Kailin put the last diamond earring in before she spoke, “Did Gabby get her heart broke?” She stuck out her lower lip.
  Gabrielle looked at her out of the side of her eye, “Shut up, Kai.”
  She walked over to the small coat closest in between Gabrielle’s room and the kitchen, and pulled out her black dress coat. Placing the coat on the back of the couch, she walked into Gabrielle’s room.
  She was never cleanly, clothes were piled on the floor. Gabrielle was known for trying on several outfits before settling on one, normally the first one she had tried on. Kailin fought through the piles of clothes in her stilettos, and made it to the closest. She opened it and pulled out a strapless long white dress and matching high heels. Walking into Gabrielle’s bathroom, she grabbed several white butterfly clips, a spray bottle of water, a hairbrush, some moose, and Gabrielle’s make-up bag.
  “No!” She heard Gabrielle scream at her, when the Pyrrhonian heard the clanks on her make-up bag.
  Walking back into the living room, Kailin placed the dress and shoes on the couch. “Come here, and I’ll do your hair.”
  “I’m not going.”
  “Why? Are you going to hide from Kristian all your life? That’s not the Gabby I know.” Kailin pulled some hairs out of the brush.
  “I am not hiding from him, I am just putting myself in a position where I won’t kill him.”
  She frowned, “Gabby, I want you to come. I don’t want to be the only fresh there.”
  “Then don’t go.” Gabrielle changed the channel to cartoons, she hadn’t meant to, but now that she was on the channel she was going to stick with it.
  Kailin snickered, “Since when do you like cartoons?”
  “Not going!”
  “Fine, don’t come, but you won’t be able to meet any Pyrrhonian elders, and there are plenty of guys to flirt with. You could really make Kristian jealous for what he did.” Kailin shrugged, as she picked up the white dress and shoes. “Guess revenge isn’t your thing either.”
  Gabrielle’s hand went over the white dress and pulled it to her. “Let me borrow some of your jewelry?”
  Kailin smiled, “Which ones?”
  “The pink diamonds, heart shaped ones.”
  She nodded, “I’ll go get them, you get in that dress.”
  Kailin went into her room, and opened her jewelry box, and found the necklace, bracelet, and earrings that Gabrielle wanted. Returning to the living room, Gabrielle was dressed and held out her hand for the jewelry.
  “How do you want your hair?” Kailin asked, going behind the couch so Gabrielle could sit down.
  “Pinned up with those butterfly clips but let the curls be loose. I don’t like my hair all crowded together on top of my head, like you do.”
  Kailin did as she was asked, it took an hour to get her hair brushed out, and another half hour to get it the way she wanted it. Gabrielle stood up to let Kailin look her over, she looked lovely except for the deep frown on her face.
  “Put on your make-up.” She offered her the make-up bag.
  Gabrielle took it and headed into her bathroom. It wasn’t more then ten minutes when Gabrielle reappeared in the living room. “Good?”
  “Yes.”
  “You owe me so big for this, Kailin. And I am going to make you pay.”
  Kailin chuckled, “The jewelry wasn’t enough?”
  “No.”
  “What if he apologizes?”
  She shook her head and folded her arms, “Fuck him, what he has done is unforgivable.”
  “Are you going to tell me what he did?”
  Again she shook her head.
  “Alright, well, don’t expect sympathy from me then.”
  A knock came at the door, and Kailin went to answer it.
  “I expect nothing from you, Kai.”
  Opening the door Kailin found Kristian standing in the hall. “Greetings, Madam Bramwell.” He said.
  Kailin stepped aside. “You look handsome.”
  He didn’t respond.
  She understood why, his pride was still hurt.
  “You look beautiful, Gabby.” He said, and Gabrielle only crossed her arms and looked the other way. Kristian looked over at Kailin, “Tzion is waiting downstairs in the carriage for you.”
  Kailin nodded and squeezed Kristian’s shoulder, it was both an apology for what she had done, and sympathy for the way Gabrielle was acting.
  Gabrielle watched Kailin step out the door, and as soon as her figure was out of sight, she missed her. Turning around, she walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water.
  “I am not suppose to arrive for another hour, but Tzion wanted to get Kailin there early.” Kristian told her, but got no reply. “He wants to explain to her how she should act, because…”
  “Do not speak to me, Kristian. As soon as we arrive, don’t even expect to see me until the end of the evening, where you will escort me home.” Gabrielle walked into the living room with a glass of water in her hand, “After that we will have no reason to see each other again.”
  Kristian nodded, “If that is what you wish.”

  Kailin was surprised to find there was indeed a carriage downstairs, she had thought Kristian had had a slip of the tongue.
  A dark covered carriage with two white horses pulling it. As she approached the driver jumped down and opened the door for her. Another surprise awaited inside, it was Tzion. She took her seat across from him, and the driver closed the door as soon as he was sure she was in.
  “I hadn’t expected you to come and get me.”
  Tzion grinned, “What kind of gentlemen would I be, if I didn’t pick up my lady of the evening?”
  Kailin shrugged, and realized she had forgotten both her purse and jacket.
  “You won’t be needing either where we are going.” Tzion told her. “You look very beautiful tonight.”
  Suddenly her eyesight went dim, he was again using his ability to block her vision. “I would say the same for you, but I can’t see you.”
  “I thought maybe we would take a tour of the past, when you were human, you rode around in things similar to this.” He looked up at the roof of the carriage, “I thought maybe it would bring back some happy memories.”
  Kailin grinned, “That was…thoughtful.”
  It fell silent for a moment, then Tzion spoke. “It will take a lot longer to get to my home this way, but I think it’s worth the time spent. I believe it took nearly a hour and a half to get here, so we have plenty of time to talk.” He moved next to her.
  “Talk? About what?”
  He shrugged, “Anything you want to talk about, I am sure you have several questions as to what has happened.”
  Her eyes shot from the carriage window to the man next to her, “I do have a few.”
  “I am prepared to answer anything you ask.”
  “Why are you sending the elders to feed from me?”
  Tzion rose an eyebrow, “I certainly wasn’t expecting you to jump right into the meat of the conversation, but very well.” He took a moment to select his words, “I am merely strengthening you, as I know there are rough times ahead.”
  “Then why not just tell me, and allow me to willingly choose to be fed from?”
  “You aren’t willing, that is the problem. Sometimes, others know what is better for you.”
  Kailin pressed her lips together, “What about Mathias, you forced him to feed from me.”
  He shook his head, “No, I think you misunderstand what has occurred. Mathias has a sick obsession with you. Kailin, he is very dangerous. As a fresh, you have no idea the thoughts that echo through that man’s mind. Feeding from you is just the beginning of what this man desires.”
  “You seem to forget that when you exchange blood that you receive each others thoughts.”
  “Thoughts, not desires, wishes, secrets… Mathias is a demented man, who I was forced to turn. His heart is black and he wishes nothing more then to sabotage all the prophecies for what we have done to him, or at least what he believes we have done.”
  Kailin swallowed, “And what have we done?”
  “I am sure Mathias has already told you this by now, but there were two guardians before you. The first was his lover, his wife.” Tzion folded his hands into his lap for a moment, and then stroked his goatee with his right hand.
  “You made him kill his wife?”
  He shook his head, “I never made Mathias do anything. I told him that if she was to make the beasts that odds would be against a Bowery to fight them off. Bowery are dark within their souls, and our guardian had to be a Hallowed. It took him several years to see the truth in it, and I am not certain what occurred. Eventually, he did destroy her.”
  Kailin scooted slightly away from him, “Why do I feel like you and Mathias are in a constant battle to get me to believe one over the other?”
  “Because we are.”
  It remained silent for a few moments, while Kailin tried to understand what she had just been told. “What exactly is this convention?” She asked, she didn’t want to talk about the subject on hand any longer.
  “Convention is rather a pet name for it. Similar to how the Academy Awards are called the Oscars.”
  Kailin grinned, she didn’t expect Tzion to have any clue as to what the Oscars were.
  “It is actually called the Revealing. I show my recent paintings over the last fifty years and explain what they mean.”
  “Paintings? You mean the prophecies?”
  He nodded, “Indeed. Since we are speaking of such, I would like to advise you to use care when speaking to the elders. Those that do not understand you, will not appreciate your honest, blunt behavior.”
  She wasn’t sure what he meant, but nodded anyway. The rest of the trip was left to silence, and Kailin couldn’t wait to be far away from this man’s presence. He had begun to make her uncomfortable, his stories seemed to be truthful, but she knew they were missing key facts. Knowing that, she also let her mind wander somewhere else, since the elder would gladly read her mind without her consent.

  The driveway up the mansion was lit up with several lamps that weren’t normally left on. Not that they were needed yet, the sky was a pink hue from the sun just setting. It was Kailin’s favorite time of the day, it always reminded her of sitting with her sister under the tree.
  She was taken off guard when the carriage drove past the front door, and headed around the side. Standing next to the cellar doors was several men in tuxedoes. The carriage door opened and Kailin was helped out by the driver. When Tzion stepped out, the men opened the cellar doors for him. He took Kailin’s hand and placed it in the crook of his arm.
  They began down the sturdy stairs, until they came to the cement ground of the cellar. It will filled with the scent of dust, but she couldn’t see any. The room was filled with wine bottles, which Kailin decided was the way that Tzion continued to make his money. Many vampires aged expensive wine brands to sell, and she was almost certain that there were some in the room that were older then she was.
  Walking past several wine racks, they came to a large iron door and another tuxedo clothed man. He opened the door, allowing them into the metal hallway. It began down in a slant, and continued to another iron door. However this door lead to a flight of stairs, that took them down several stories into the ground below.
  “With as many elders that will be here tonight, we can not be too safe.” Tzion told her, when he noticed the confused look on her face. “We hold the convention four stories below the ground, far enough below that the Mephis can’t sense us.”
  “Why not an elevator then?”
  Tzion grinned, “If it were to break, we would be stuck down there.”
  “There is no way out?”
  He shook his head, “The convention lasts all night and day, until darkness falls once again. It is to allow the Bowery and Pyrrhonians the ability to safely leave.”
  They reached the final iron door, which was opened as they approached. Though the path that led to the party seemed to be the way into a torture chamber, the actual ballroom was exquisite.
  There were marble floors, walls, and pillars throughout the large room. Cold blood sat on a large marble table in the corner, although none of the blood was human. The center of the room had a thin large rug that everyone danced on, and closer to the walls were large over stuffed chairs and small delicate tables. A band played closer to the doors, and candles were lit all around. Being a Hallowed Kailin wondered why they had chosen candles to light the ballroom, but she didn’t ask.
  “Enjoy yourself, while I prepare my paintings. I do not trust my underlings to correctly place them.” Tzion told her, and left her alone at the door.
  She made her way over to the drinks, in front of each line was a small card that told which kind of blood the line was. Pig, dog, rat, and raven were the choices, she chose raven. Human blood was a potent liquid, and drinking it cold and not from the body of the victim, could make any vampire very ill.
  Tzion appeared next to her and grinned, picking up a wine glass.
  “I thought you were checking your paintings?”
  “They haven’t brought them down yet.” He sighed, and took a sip. “Guests should start arriving soon, including your Pyrrhonian. They only have two hours before all the doors are locked until night falls again.” He looked over at the door as several fresh began to bring in the paintings. “Excuse me.”
  She watched him place his glass back in line with the other glasses, and walk over to the fresh vampires. He began to order them around. She couldn’t see any of the paintings because they were all covered in cloth. Tzion, however, seemed to know which one was which without even looking under the cloth.

  Within those two hours the ballroom became crowded. The band played softly and was almost completely drowned out by the voices. Kailin had spent several moments in the public eye until she realized that even though she didn’t know the strange faces, they knew who she was. Those that glared sliced through the loud ballroom with their angry glares. No one wanted to speak to hear, not that she attempted to make conversation. Living among humans, she didn’t quite feel comfortable to be surrounded by so many of her own kind. At first, she had thought it was because she was a fresh among so many elders, but a few over heard whispered told her that it was her past.
  Without even attempting it, she found herself hidden behind a tall white pillar in the corner of the room. Not being able to see those angry eyes staring back at her, she took a moment to calm down. Trying to decide how she would spend the rest of the evening, she couldn’t leave like her instincts wanted. They were locked in the ballroom with no way to escape, and she was certain that Tzion wouldn’t unlock them just for her.
  Her senses told her that someone in the ballroom was her familiar Pyrrhonian friend, but she wasn’t ready to face the eyes again to search her out. Looking down at her empty wine glass, she folded her left arm around herself. Her eyes went around the pillar, only to find that everyone was going about their business. No one watching or waiting for her to come out from her make-shift den. Her eyes wandered across the dance floor to Tzion, who was speaking to several elders. Back across the room, she couldn’t see anyone else that she recognized. Leaning back against the wall, she continued to wait, sure that Gabrielle would eventually find her.
  It felt strange to be so afraid of being around others, after all Kailin had been a duchess and her husband had had many social gatherings such as the one she was in now. But it was the vampires, it had to be that, all her life living with the humans, and keeping a distance from all others of her kind. The Pyrrhonians were but a brief moment in time, and as for Gabrielle, she had lived with her for so long that she had just become Gabrielle. Fear was something not unknown, but never shown in Kailin’s heart. The eyes of those that had stared lingered in her mind, she was hated, she could tell by just a single glance.
  Never knowing how infamous she actually was until that night had made it all the more surprising, but the Mephis affected all races. A simple mistake made her a name spoken on every lip, and an angry glare in every eye.
  Four fingers appeared on the pillar followed by some dark red hair, and then a grin from her friend.
  “Why are you hiding back here?”
  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to answer the question, “I’m not hiding, I’m resting.” Kailin answered, and saw her friend’s disbelief.
  Gabrielle rolled her eyes, “Wouldn’t a chair be better for that?” She gave her no time to answer. “What’s really going on?”
  Kailin shrugged, “I am not very well liked among the vampire community.”
  Gabrielle turned her head and looked at everyone that was dancing, after a moment she brought her eyes back to Kailin. Her lips mumbled the words that Kailin had just said, and she thought on them for a moment. “Seems to me everyone is having a good time.” She shrugged, and then grinned. “I think it’s just Kailin being self absorbed, don’t you?”
  “I am not being self absorbed, Gabby. These people really do have issues with me being here.”
  “And since when have you ever cared about what others thought?”
  Kailin let out a deep breath, “These are elders, it’s different. I don’t know… I… Damn it, Gabby, don’t try to make sense out of this.”
  Gabrielle smiled, “We are all here to have fun, quit being so self-centered and come out here and dance. A few handsome fellows have asked me where you are.”
  “Looking for a reason to have me killed, probably.”
  Her grin faded, “Kailin, I am not going to spend this evening standing behind a pillar with you, hiding from a fear that doesn’t even really exist. There are people here who came just to meet you.”
  “I thought you wanted to spend the evening in your bath robe watching television.”
  She gave a deep sigh, and seemed to want to cross her arms, but realized she had a wine glass in her hand. “If I were half as famous as you, I think I would have a little less shyness about me. What is wrong with you, Kailin? You aren’t afraid of people.”
  Her shoulders gave a small shrug, “I don’t know, there is just something unwholesome when they look at me. Like I am the butt of some joke, it’s uncomfortable.”
  “Uncomfortable? Try being a Pyrrhonian in here. Yeah, there are some elders, but I think I am the only fresh. You are sounding ridiculous, Kailin.”
  Kailin nodded, “I know, I can hear myself, but…”
  “The only butt I am going to talk about is your butt moving over there and talking to that incredibly delicious man.” She pointed at Mathias, who was standing by the drinks.
  “Don’t point, Gabby.” She said as she looked around the pillar, “You mean Mathias?”
  “He was such a sweet man that night that Kristian got hurt, he was very worried about you.” Gabrielle looked over at Mathias and bit her lower lip. “Caring, considerate, protecting, he is just the man meat of my dreams.”
  Kailin closed her eyes trying to forget what she had just said, “Could you not call the elders man meat, please?”
  A loud laugh came from Gabrielle; it made her look up immediately at her, “Did I just embarrass you?” She waited for Kailin to say something, but she seemed to ignore her. Gabrielle smiled left her face, and went back to Mathias. He was standing next to the wine glasses, seeming to choose which drink he wanted. “Well, he is looking for you. He has been asking me if I have seen you since I got here. I think he wants to talk to you about what happened with Kristian.”
  Kailin wanted to take the subject off Mathias, “You have certainly changed your attitude since I left you.”
  Gabrielle shrugged, “It’s the party environment, makes Gabby a happy girl.” She grinned. “You going to talk to him?”
  “You and Kristian have a talk? Make up for what went wrong?”
  Gabrielle glared at her out of the corner of her eye, “Don’t think you can change the subject on me, I asked you a question.”
  “No, I don’t want to talk to anyone. There is too much confusion going on between Mathias and Tzion, and I just need time to sort it all out.” She sighed, “I wish I had never come to this stupid thing.”
  “Kai, what is your problem? Seems to me that you have a very kind, caring gentleman who just wants to talk to you. I don‘t know what has happened, but you were very eager to come here tonight. Now, I am going to get Mathias, and you are going to have a good evening.” She said as she sashayed off.
  “No! Gabby!” Kailin reached out trying to grab her arm, but missed. She watched her walk up to Mathias, who was stilling picking a drink. Gabrielle picked up the wine glass from the table and handed it to Mathias, then point over towards the pillar. Before Mathias looked over she leaned back against the wall, “Damn you, Gabby.” She mumbled waiting for the inevitable
  Mathias peered around the pillar, “Hiding?”
  “Possibly.”
  “I guess Tzion never told you that a majority of people don’t particular care for your role in the Mephis matter.” he leaned up against the wall, next to her.
  “I am not hiding from them, I am just hiding from the crowd, that’s all.”
  He looked over at her, then took a sip of his drink, “What’s the difference?”
  She shrugged, “There is, that’s all. What do you want anyway?”
  “I just wanted to tell you that I have been ordered by Tzion to not speak to you anymore after today.”
  Her eyes shot up to him from her wine glass, “Why?”
  “Apparently, I have explained to much to you. That is his excuse anyway. Truth be known, I am getting in the way of his plan.”
  “His plan?”
  Mathias shook his head, “Nothing, forget I said anything.” He went quiet for a moment, then looked down at her. “Do you want me to leave you alone? I know you said so when we first met, but…” He didn’t exactly know what he was asking her, and stopped speaking while he looked into the crowd.
  “But, what?”
  “I am not certain.”
  Kailin swallowed, “Tzion says you have a sick obsession with me.”
  “Those were the words he used?”
  She nodded, and watched Mathias’ eyes go over to Tzion, who was speaking to several elders.
  “I wouldn’t call it a sick obsession. It is my duty to watch you, and protect you from which you don’t understand. It is only natural that one grows attached, whether the other person knows or not.” He cleared his throat, “It’s not an obsession, I would of spoken to you a lot sooner if it were. The only reason we even met was because Lycorisa’s ability failed.”
  “Attached to me?”
  He looked over at her, “You are certainly full of questions.”
  “I prefer answers.”
  “I know.” He turned his attention back to the crowd.
  Kailin grinned, “You aren’t going to answer my question?”
  “I think I have already done so, you just want me to clarify on something I have already said. Make your own decision from what I have given you, if you dig too deep you might not like what you find.”
  “I don’t think there is anything about you that I wouldn’t like.” Kailin about swallowed her own tongue, when she realized what she had just said. That wasn’t something she would say, but she had said it.
  Mathias didn’t even twitch from her statement, and Kailin only assumed being as old as he was, he didn’t read much into what people say.
  “Would you like me to get you another drink?” He asked looking at her empty wine glass.
  “Yes, please.” She offered it to him.
  “What were you having?”
  “Raven.”
  Mathias looked into the glass, and turned up his nose. Walking over to the table of drinks. Watching him disappear into the crowd, Kailin stepped out from behind the pillar. Her eyes ventured over the others in the room, Tzion was still speaking with some elders. But she caught a couple glimpses of him glaring at Mathias.
  There was no doubt in her mind that Tzion had told Mathias not to speak with her. She watched Mathias place the empty wine glasses on the table and pick up two more. His eyes glanced over to Tzion, who glared him down as if daring Mathias to disobey him. The large vampire held no upset in his eyes as he turned his back to his master, and walked back to Kailin’s presence.
  Before long, she had her wine glass in hand again with Mathias standing beside her. “Why?” She said, not meaning to speak out loud, but Mathias had heard her and it was to late to back down now.
  “Excuse me?” He replied.
  She turned her head to look at him, “Just why…” She sighed, “There are so many of them that I don’t know where to begin.”
  It was quiet for a moment, while she gathered her thoughts. Mathias knew she was trying to find a starting point and just remained silent, waiting to hear what she had to say. “Why was this placed on me? Why can’t I know what is going to happen to me? Why can’t I be told what I am suppose to do? Why doesn’t any of this make sense? Why does this feel I am watching it all as a bystander? It’s suppose to be all on me, and yet I don’t even understand what it is that I am doing.”
  Mathias took a drink from his glass, “I don’t think that I can answer any of those questions. It’s not that I am not permitted, but that I just don’t know.” His eyes wandered over to Tzion, who was still glaring at him. “Not even Tzion truly knows what it is that you need to accomplish. All we know is that you are the guardian.”
  “The guardian of what?” She snapped in frustration.
  “Of everything and everyone, of life as it is now and as it will be.”
  Kailin had been staring at the crowd, but her eyes turned to look into Mathias’ dark eyes. “Everything?”
  He nodded and said in a somber voice, “Everything.”
  Kailin’s eyes looked back into the crowd for a moment, as she thought it over. “No pressure, huh?”
  Mathias grinned, then took her wine glass and returned to the table to hand them back to the servant.

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Book Cover is done by a great artist Luis Royo. He didn't do this work for me, and it's his copywritted material.

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