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.

  The moments had past on and soon it was time to begin the rebirth, Anthony was anxious as he looked around the room. He needed a sacrifice in order to keep their mother on the earth, and the Mephis hadn’t brought the one he had chosen yet. Standing up, he decided that he needed to begin the ceremony or else it would have to begin all over again. He opened the urn revealing the soft ashes that had once been his friend, his enemy, and his creator. Taking a vile from his pocket, he filled it half way with the gray ash and then turned to Leila.
  “If you would, my love.” He held the vile out to her.
  Leila bit her finger and let the blood drip into the glass vile, it mixed with the ashes forming a paste.
  The priests stood and were escorted out by the minions, Anthony stared at the water that filled the pit. “From what is good will come evil.” Anthony said out loud as he threw the vile into the water.
  It made a small splash in the center of the pool, causing him to take a step back. Samuel’s eyes remained on the water, as Anthony took his seat next to Leila. Slowly the water began to spin picking up speed, it seemed as if lightening flashed deep within the water, until the water shot into the air, scaring most of the Mephis in the room. Some even lost their footing as they tried to race out into the hall, one was pushed away and thrown into the water, and steam rose from where he had entered..
  “Enough!” Anthony yelled at them, when they continued to act frantically. “We are safe.”
  They all stopped to stare at the water, that wasn’t splashing down around them. Instead it began to swirl in the air. A watery figure began to form, Leila grinned and stood from her seat stepping closer to the pit’s edge, as Anthony followed behind her.
  Through the water the creation of a skeleton could be seen, and then the organs began to take their places. Muscles began to form over the skeletal structure, and then the figure slowly began to sprout skin and from the skin formed Kailin. Her eyes were red and the center black, her naked form stepped out onto the solid ground. The evil of her soul nearly match what it had felt like to be around Marekio. She looked around the room at the gathered Mephis, her eyes fell upon Anthony and Leila. While Samuel reminded hidden in the far corner, unsure of his own feelings.
  “Welcome, my queen.” Anthony kneeled down before her.
  “Bring me clothing.” She ordered, staring down at him.
  Leila reached beside her throne and pulled out a dress. Bringing it over to Kailin, she kneeled down beside her, as she offered it up to her. “My queen.”
  Kailin looked at it for a moment, before she took the black velvet cloak and dress from her hands. She dressed herself and then walked over to the thrones, taking her seat where Anthony normally sat. Her eyes fell on Samuel, and she tapped the throne beside her.
  Samuel looked at Anthony seeming to ask him if it would be alright, though he had sat in the throne, he never expected Kailin to demand him to be seated next to her. Taking orders from anyone but Anthony seemed unnatural. Anthony grinned and waved his hand at the throne. With a swallow he walked to his new throne, and sat down slowly.
  Anthony walked in front of the throne and kneeled before Kailin. “My queen, I wish to discuss our future events.”
  “Speak.”
  He cocked his head up slightly trying not to look her in the eyes, as he knew that would offend her, “My queen, how shall we begin our siege on the Earth? Though we are strong in numbers, our leaders such as Samuel and I are still but young vampires. This wasn’t meant to occur until we were almost elders ourselves.”
  She held out her hand, Anthony slowly walked up to her with his head still bowed. He placed her hand in his own, and ran his teeth down her thumb to her wrist. His teeth sunk in and he drank the sweet nectar of his queen and mother, the only evil blood of a Hallowed One.
  She pulled her hand away and he stumbled backwards, Leila had to stop him from tripping into the pit. Suddenly, he felt something he hadn’t known for hundreds of years, it felt as if his heart were beating. It brought him pain, as it filled his body, he fell to the ground, grabbing his head and crying out. His teeth transformed into normal canines, his mind screamed out in wretched pain as it too was altered. When he was certain he would pass out from the pain, his heart stopped pounding and faded back into it’s useless state. The pain was replaced with a sense of power, and he understood now that he had become more then just a Mephis. He smiled at Leila when he stood on his feet, turning back to Kailin. He realized that she had given Samuel her other hand and he too was under the change.
  Samuel although was allowed much more then he was and just by looking at him, he knew that Samuel was now far stronger. It angered him, but he would not question Kailin for above anyone else in the room her power glowed and her evil smothered.
  “Let me go!” A voice came from the back of the room. Gabrielle and her human companion stood trying to shake their Mephis captors off them.
  “Gabrielle, what a pleasure to see you again.” Anthony chuckled when he came to stand in front of her.
  On her knees, Gabrielle looked up to the dark figure, her frown was deep. “Anthony! What the hell are you doing?”
  He waved his hand and the two Mephis holding them released their hostages.
  “I just thought you would like to meet someone.” He stepped aside to reveal Kailin.
  “Kailin?” Gabrielle went to stand up, but the minion behind her shoved her back onto her knees.
  “Not Kailin any more, but Caitlyn the savior of the Mephistopheleans. Born again into the arms of the Ultimate Evil to bring us justice. Of course, before we can begin we need a sacrifice to make sure she stays on this Earth. You see, Kailin was Leila’s sacrifice, but now we need someone to give their life to Kailin.”
  “Leila?” Gabrielle looked over at the girl in the corner, “The prophecy.” She whispered underneath her breath.
  “Yes, the prophecy has come true. To bad you won’t be around to watch it happen.” He waved his hand again.
  One of the Mephis grabbed her by her by the back of her throat and hung her over the pit that once had holy water in it.
  “It’s a long way down, but your ashes won’t mind much. Turn her around.”
  “Let her go!” Lucas tried to stand up, but the minion’s hand rammed into the side of his face. He was sent into the wall and fell unconscious when he hit the floor.
  Grabbing the front of her neck with it’s other hand, the Mephis spun Gabrielle around to face Anthony.
  Her eyes went to Kailin, who sat calmly on her throne. She didn‘t even bother to look at Gabrielle, “Kailin? Kailin, please, Kailin, I know you are in there. Help me, please!” Gabrielle begged, she understood that she was about to die.
  For a moment both Gabrielle and Anthony thought she would answer the cry, when she stood up to stand next to Samuel, who was standing near the pits edge. Nothing became of it, it was like Gabrielle wasn’t even calling her name. Her eyes were vacant, and she still hadn’t looked at the Pyrrhonian.
  Anthony pulled a stake from his belt, “I want to thank you again for helping us.” He slowly pushed the stake into her heart, her shirt began to soak with blood. Leila noticed Kailin take a step forward as Gabrielle screamed. She had now noticed the presence of the lesser vampire.
  “Your death is only the beginning for us.” Anthony laughed.
  Leila ran to stand beside her lover, “Anthony knock it off.” Her eyes went to Kailin, and he followed her line of sight.
  “It’s nothing. I have been waiting to kill Gabrielle for a long time, and I am going to enjoy this. She was the reason that Kailin killed you in the first place. Placing the seed of hate inside Kailin against her own sister. Was it jealousy, Gabrielle?” He pushed the stake in a bit, and Gabrielle screamed louder and began to sweat.
  Her eyes flailed wildly between Anthony and Kailin, her heart had been punctured and it wouldn’t take much more.
  Kailin seemed to look concerned with Gabrielle’s cries, and took another step forward. Leila felt it with her, not the demon, she felt the real Kailin calling out to her friend. The aura, it couldn’t be there, when she died it was sent to be with the Higher Being. No, the only thing that could be occupying that body now was the demon soul. She was sure of it… the aura started to become stronger with each cry.
  “That’s enough, Anthony.” Leila jumped forward and slammed the stake into Gabrielle’s heart. The screams echoed throughout the room, and the pipes under the city. Her body began to turn a dark gray, and then dissolve in the hand of the giant Mephis. Anthony smiled as he watched the ashes fall into the pit, he crossed his arms rather pleased with himself.
  “I wish you hadn’t disturbed me.” He growled at Leila, “She deserved a prolonged death.”
  “But Kailin…”
  “Let me worry about her.” Turning around, he looked at Lucas who had just started to become conscious. “Now, for the hunter.”
  The large Mephis who had held Gabrielle while she died, grabbed Lucas’ arm and dragged him to the pit, “Damn you! I hope you all burn in hell!” Lucas screamed, when he realized that Gabrielle was no longer in the room. His eyes began to fill with tears, but he tried to remain strong.
  Anthony went to stand next to Kailin, he stepped in front of her and grinned, “I am sure that you are quite hungry, so we have provided you with this human, my queen.” He smiled most pleased with himself, then turned around to order the human be brought closer. But his face was soon covered in pain as he felt the slender fingers dig it’s way through his back pulling his heart out.
  Kailin dropped the heart to the ground, and ran to stand beside Lucas. Her first attack was directed at the Mephis who was holding her hunter friend. The large minion gave her no fight, and ran away before she could cause him any harm. “Stay back!” She yelled at everyone, Lucas stared at her right hand that was covered in blood. Bending down she scooped up a small amount of ashes that had fallen onto the ground when Gabrielle was killed. Then grabbing Lucas’ arm, she ran from the room to find the ladder that she had once used to escape.
  “Fuck!” Anthony screamed as he bled from the ground.
  Leila ran over to him, “She is escaping.”
  “After her, you idiots!” Anthony screamed at the minion Mephis, who were standing around the empty pit. They all scrambled off towards the exit, just like they had done before in a frantic run.
  Leila bent down and picked up Anthony’s heart from the ground. Shoving it back into his chest, she cupped her hands over the large wound.
  The ladder to the left had been yanked from the wall, Kailin assumed by Anthony after the first time that she had escaped. She had to find another way out, and it would be harder this time with Lucas. Kailin kept her arm firmly around Lucas’ waist as she made large leaps down the sewer tunnels. It was not lit well, and there was a terrible stench. A large Mephis jumped in front of them, Kailin slid her hand into Lucas’s jacket pocket and dropped Gabrielle’s ashes into it. She then delivered a side kick into the Mephis’ abdomen and as the Mephis bent over to grab his stomach, she sent Lucas flying over the top of the beast.
  “Run!” She yelled at him.
  Lucas complied and hurried down the tunnel to look for a way out. He heard Kailin scream in agony, stopping for a second he stared down the passage. Wondering if he should go back to help, he realized it would do him or Kailin no good. He wasn’t equipped to deal with vampires, and was even less ready for Mephis. He began running again until he found a ladder, he climbed up and into an alley way. As he pulled himself out of the manhole, he looked around, wondering where he should go from there. Leaning against a building, he took several large breathes. Grabbing his face he tried not to cry, as he thought about the last few hours.
  Gabrielle and he had tried to make a run for the front door, she thought she could distract them long enough to get to the stairway. They barely made it over the couch before Lucas was in their grasps, and Gabrielle had to stop her escape to come back for him. It was his fault that she had been captured, he should of ran faster. Kicking a can that laid in the dark alley, he took a few more breathes. He needed to head back to Tzion’s, there was nothing he could do to help Kailin.
  By the time he made it to the mansion, Kailin was standing outside the gates, she was leaning against them with her arms crossed. Still wearing the black velvet cloak and dress, her eyes told of great sadness. She didn’t know what to say to him as he approached.
  “Let’s go inside.” Was all she said, as the gates opened ahead of them.

  Kailin stumbled down the hallway, she could sense the large gathering of vampires in the room ahead. Walking into the library, she found the elders that were standing in a large malformed circle. She looked around the room as they stared almost horrified at her entrance. They had all been expecting her returned, but it had been so sudden. The books had given them at least a month before she would be risen.
  After her death, they had all rushed to the library to see if there was something they could do. In the old pages of a tome, they found their answer. The original prophet had foreseen it all, but they had been too blind to actually see what it really meant.
  Blood had dried on her hand from where she ripped Anthony’s heart out. Everyone stood in silence for a long time, then Mathias stepped forward, his hand in front of him, trying to hold back any attempt she might make on his life.
  “Kailin, is that you?” He asked, as he reached out to touch her shoulder.
  Her eyes looked down at his large hand, and then over to Tzion. He looked the most frightened of them all. Standing behind the desk, his eyes wide. She could tell he was already concocting an escape plan. “What is happening?” The words finally slipped from her mouth, as Lucas came to stand in the room behind her.
  There was a moment of relief among the elders when she finished her question, their tense backs were released. Even Khaldun seemed to lower his guard, which was unusual for him during any situation.
  Tzion stepped from behind his desk and came to stand in front of her. He wanted to ask her a hundred questions, but knew that he needed to answer hers first. “We misinterpreted the prophecies. You were a sacrifice first and then their savior. We thought you would share blood with your sister, but instead you gave blood to resurrect her and therefore she carries your blood within her. And to call you back they used her own blood, you are now part Mephis, Kailin. You are now one of your own creations.”
  Seeming to ignore Tzion completely, she turned her eyes to Mathias. His hand was still on her shoulder, “They killed Gabrielle.”
  Tzion gave a nod, though she was not looking at him. “Yes we know, fortunately for us they chose the wrong person to sacrifice for your existence. Your aura had a strong bond with Gabrielle’s and when hers left this plane of existence, yours returned to control your body.”
  “I don’t understand, I thought that Ancient vampire said Kailin’s aura couldn’t be pulled back?” Lucas asked.
  “Another piece of information we just discovered, her aura had never left. It was merely buried within her demon, a deal with Marekio, and once again fortunately for us he tricked them. You see, when you died, the aura remained with the demon. The strong emotional bond that you have with Gabrielle caused it to dislodge itself, if you will.”
  Most of the elder’s remained silent, a little uneasy with Kailin still. The triplets had returned to reading their tomes, while Khaldun and Lycorisa hid themselves in the corner. Jareth preferred to stand in the center of the room and watch the commotion.
  “Bring her back.” Kailin ordered, and stomped her foot beneath her. Mathias removed his hand from her shoulder, as Lucas came to stand between them.
  “Who?” Tzion asked, as Kailin’s eyes pierced through him.
  “Gabrielle, bring her back to life, now!” The tears began to form in her eyes.
  “Th..that would be impossible.”
  “No! No, it’s not! Leila is back, I am alive. I have her remains.” She pulled ashes from Lucas’s jacket pockets. “Bring her back to life, now!”
  “Kailin, I understand your grief. But you must understand that when you bring someone back to life… it would only be her demon soul. Her aura has rejoined her human soul with the Higher Being. All we would be doing is releasing a demon onto this earth. Your aura was trapped within the demon, and watching Gabrielle die is the only reason you are here now speaking with us instead of slaying us.”
  “No.” She mumbled and slipped to the ground. Mathias kneeled down beside her and began to rub her back. The sounds of whimpers came from her lips, and everyone understood that she was crying. Suddenly, she jumped to her feet and ran from the room.
  “Kailin, wait.” Mathias yelled, as he stepped out into the hallway. He turned to look at Tzion, “I will speak with her, you stay here and keep looking for answers.”

  He found her by the fountain in the garden almost three hours later. Her eyes were red from her tears, and her tight blonde curls blew in the wind. The air was chilly and most of the flowers and plants had died because of the winter. Without saying a word, he sat down beside her and placed his hand on her own. He lifted her hand from the fountain when she didn’t respond and placed both his hands around her own. Kissing her fingertips, he placed both their hands on his thigh and stared at her sad face. He decided to wait and allow her to start the conversation.
  “It’s all my fault that she is dead.” The words she spoke were cold and full of anger, but he wasn’t sure who she was angry at.
  “That is not true.”
  “Had I not been so blind to all that had been happening. I allowed Tzion to trick me into the feedings, and I ignored Gabrielle these past few months. I should… I should of known that Anthony was more of a threat. He nearly killed me in Boston, why didn’t I think he would do something now? I should of never allowed Tzion to get to me.”
  Mathias shook his head, “Tzion would of done anything to make you part of his plan, whether you accepted it or not. If anything it is our fault that Gabrielle is dead. We should of just waited and been patient.” There was a moment of silence, and when Mathias was sure she wasn’t going to speak again, he did. “It’s too late for regrets, what are you going to do about it?”
  “What do you mean?” Her eyes looked up at him.
  “Are you going to let those Mephis go on living? Or are you going to stop them before this goes any further?”
  “I can do nothing.”
  “On the contrary, they made you stronger. You just need to let us teach your aura how to use the abilities that have been given to you, and to allow Tzion to understand exactly what they have done to you. You may be able to use Mephis abilities now, and…” He watched her eyes fall to the ground, and his heart sunk. He didn’t understand why he started speaking about such things, this wasn’t the time for it.
  “I don’t feel like discussing this now.” She mumbled.
  He nodded and they sat in silence for a short moment, until Kailin wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked up at the path that lead to the fountain, her eyes staring off into the distance.
  “I didn’t get to say goodbye. I didn’t get to tell her that I loved her. I didn’t get to tell her how much she really meant to me, and I never meant anything cruel that I said.” She caught herself from crying again.
  Mathias frowned and clenched onto her hand tighter, “She knows, Kailin, she loved you very much too.” Letting go of her hand, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
  Kailin laid her head down against his chest. “I sat there and watched her die, and my body wouldn’t listen. It wouldn’t save her, it just let her go.” The slow stream of tears dropped onto his dark shirt. “I don’t know what I am going to do, now. All that I have ever known was her. She has always been there for me, and now… I’m alone.”
  “You are not alone.” Mathias whispered. “In time you will realized that.”
  Her head shook slightly, “I am alone, you just don’t understand.”
  “Trust me, it hurts now, but time will dull the pain.”
  “They all still hurt, my sister, Nathaniel, Samuel, and now Gabrielle. They haunt my heart, even to this day. Worst yet they all died because of me.”
  “Don’t say that. Nathaniel is alive.”
  She shook her head, “He’s still dead to me, and I am going to leave it like that.”
  He kissed the top of her head, “Aren’t I your friend?”
  The back of her hand wiped the tears from her face, “I don’t want anymore.”
  He grinned slightly to himself, “Now, you are just being difficult, Kailin.”
  “I don’t want to love someone again, and have them die on me.”
  “I understand, but being an elder myself, I have loved and lost. I know how it feels, I…”
  “Elders stop looking for love and true friends, they learn that it’s not worth the pain.”
  He shook his head, “No, we forget that it is.”
  “No it’s not.”
  He took a deep sigh, “Are you telling me that you would give up every memory, everything Gabrielle ever taught you, and every moment of happiness, just so you couldn’t be in pain right now?”
  Her head lifted from his shoulder, and she looked into his eyes, “I think I want to be alone for a while, Mathias.”
  “Very well, I will visit you this evening.” He stood from the fountain and placed a kiss on her cheek, then disappeared down the garden path.
  Kailin watched him walk away, she hadn’t expected him to actually leave. Gabrielle would of refused to leave her side, but he wasn’t Gabrielle. Mathias actually listened to what people wanted and didn’t just decide what they needed to do. She swallowed and looked back down at the ground below her feet.

  A few moments past and she heard footsteps coming from where Mathias had left. Her heart jumped a little when she thought it might be him again, she hoped it would be. However, she didn’t want him to think she didn’t mean what she had said. Preparing herself to look angry, her eyes leapt up to the figure ahead of her.
  “Listen, damn it, I…” She looked at the familiar face, and stood from the fountain, “Nathaniel?”
  “Caitlyn.” He smiled, he wanted to ran towards her. Yet, he knew that this wasn’t the same woman he had known all those years ago. He stood quietly for a moment, waiting for her to make the first move.
  She stood calmly as if she had expected to see him standing there. It took a moment for him to gather up the courage to approach her first. When he did, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her as tightly as he could. He felt her slip a little allowing him to hold her weight when she began to cry.
  His angel, his beautiful angel, that he had promise to try his best never to allow the pain of this world to touch was covered in it. He had failed her and he felt anger towards himself for it. But the joy of touching her, smelling her, and just seeing her again made his happiness smother any other emotion.
  “Caitlyn, I have missed you.” He kissed the top of her head as she wrapped her arms around him.
  “Please, don’t let me go.” She cried.
  “Alright.” He placed his hands on her back and held her closely. He had never hugged her like this before, but as much as it felt good, it felt strange.
  This was not the way he wished to be reunited with her in a time of sadness. He wanted it to be a moment of happiness. Mathias had asked him not to bother her as he passed him in the hall, but he couldn’t stop himself. There was only a wall between them, and he couldn’t be away from her for a moment longer. A few moments past and he touched her face, looking down into her eyes, he went to kiss her. Kailin stepped back shocked by his straight forwardness.
  Anger began to fill his heart, along with embarrassment. He understood now, Mathias had been right all along. This wasn‘t the woman that he had once known, he could see it in her eyes and in her rejection. “I killed myself for you. I spent the last two hundred years waiting for you. All I ever wanted was for you to love me.”
  “I do love…”
  “Hush!” He flung up his hands, “It took me dying for you to realize that you loved me. I spent most of my human life doing everything I thought possible to make you just look at me in a loving manner. You never did anything.”
  “Nathaniel, you know what the prophecies told. I wanted to say I love you so many times. Every time I tried something stopped me… that doesn’t matter anymore. Our human lives don’t matter anymore.”
  “Yeah, well maybe I just realized that I don’t love you anymore. Maybe, I just realized I wasted the last two hundred years waiting for someone who didn’t exist any longer.”
  She nodded her head, “You are right, Nathaniel. Caitlyn Bramwell doesn’t exist anymore. My love for you is but a mere memory of the human that I use to be. I am Kailin now, and you should of…”
  “Get out of my face!” Nathaniel barked.
  Kailin stepped back a little startled, “I still love you, and perhaps someday we can be friends. We were never friends…”
  “Shut up! Do you know what I had to go through to finally see you again? Everything I have done has been for you…”
  “No! Everything you have done has been for yourself, Nathaniel! You are selfish, and even though you thought I didn’t love you, you still forced me to wed. You were so conceited that you actually thought you could force me to…”
  “Leave me!” His words were full of anger, and Kailin gladly did what he asked.
  Nathaniel took several long breathes, trying to catch his emotions. He didn’t know why he had started an argument, she didn’t want to kiss him after two hundred years apart. He shouldn’t of moved so fast, it was his fault.
  Mathias rest his hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to see the large man grinning.
  “And what is so funny?” Nathaniel snapped.
  “Nothing, my friend, it’s just that you wait two hundred years to finally see her and you started a fight. Besides, I thought I told you that the time wasn’t right.”
  “I don’t know what came over me.”
  His friend nodded and took a seat by the fountain, “A lot of emotions built up over the centuries, it’s hard to decide where to begin. Nathaniel, right now I think she needs her friend. She needs a familiar face, she just lost her best friend right in front of her. Maybe, right now isn’t the best time to speak of the past. If you promise to do this, just be her friend, then maybe I won’t get so upset that you ignored my order.”
  “Just be her friend? I am married to her! I am more then a friend.” Nathaniel glared at him.
  “You are being irrational right now. Calm yourself.”
  He shook his head, “I see now. I should of known, I watched while you were consoling her. You have feelings for her.”
  “Don’t be ridiculous. What have I told you about throwing accusations out without any proper proof?”
  Nathaniel folded his arms, “You are right. I’m sorry, Mathias.” His voice went calm, “I should known that you would never do anything like that and betray our friendship.” He sighed, “I should apologize to Caitlyn…”
  “Kailin.” Mathias corrected.
  He gave a nod, “Right, Kailin.”
  “No, you should let her be right now. Kailin is angry because of your temper tantrum. Give her a day to calm down.”
  Nathaniel nodded, “I don’t know what came over me. Suddenly, I was just full of anger and jealousy.”
  Mathias grinned and said nothing.

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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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