The Protectors

A Royal Blood Chronicle Book 2
By Elizabeth Loraine

This is a work of fiction. All the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author‟s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Royal Blood Chronicles Book Two copyright © 2010 by Elizabeth Loraine all rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
www.elorainerbc@gmail.com
ISBN 978-1453788110
First Edition August 2010
Dedication
This set of books is dedicated to my parents. For without the conviction that “You can accomplish anything that you set your mind to.” I couldn‟t have undertaken this project Thanks Mom and Dad.
Acknowledgements
To my sister Pam for her technical and editorial support thank you.
Thank you to my son Matt, for all the help with the website, even though you were really busy, and to DeMar, Annie, Laurel and Tiffany for all the unconditional love and support.

Preface

In the beginning we were creatures of the night, killing humans and drinking their blood to sustain us. But in the passage of the centuries we have evolved and now walk amongst you in daylight or night as peaceful, moral beings satisfied to hunt and drink the blood of animals. We live with the support of our Watchers; those humans who have been chosen and in return have made sacred vows to protect our species from those that would do us harm. A privilege for our Watchers is to be able to donate their blood to us. This donated blood is gathered medically and mixed with an elixir devised by the ancients that magically multiplies the volume and allows it to remain fresh indefinitely. We call this supplement Crimson and use it as a supplement to or a replacement of our normal diet

My name is Katrina and I have been chosen as the leader of the Five. The “Five” or “the protectors” have been foretold in the prophecies of humans throughout time. I along with my twin sister Katherine (Kate), and my friends Rosalinda (Rosa), Eleanor (El) and Arletta (Letta), have completed the protection ceremony and an oath to protect the races, all the races.
But in order to succeed the Five must become the many. Join us.
CHAPTER ONE
When I woke, Quinn was sitting on the bed beside me stroking my hair.
“Quinn, what are you doing here, what day is it?”
I said as I tried to sit up.
“Easy Kat, everything is all right, it‟s Saturday
afternoon, and I wasn‟t about to leave you alone, not
for a second. Don‟t worry it‟ll be our secret, I mean
about you‟re sleeping with me.”
There was that smile, that mischievous smile. I
was just about to tell him what I thought about that
when it hit me.
“What about Damien? I have to get over there, he
needs me,” I said again trying to get up.
“Slow down, there‟s been no change, he‟s the
same. On the outside he‟s healed, good as new, no
sign of the injury. His vampire body is still dormant,
healing itself from the inside, just like it‟s supposed
to do.”
“But, El said we could try again today to help
him. Where is everyone?”
“Sarah just told me everyone else has just woken
up too. They were just as exhausted as you were. She also said that she will be here in a few minutes
to help you.”
I dropped my head back down to my pillow in
frustration.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“Are you offering?” I said not looking at him. “That‟s the Kat I know and love, everything will be
just fine, I promise. Allwain said that Eric will be fine
too, now that he had successfully rid him of Luena‟s
presence. They haven‟t been able to find her though.” “You know about Allwain?”
“He introduced himself to all of us since he said
he‟ll be staying. Anyway, he said that Luena hid her
consciousness in Eric‟s mind so she could come
forward and use him whenever she wanted. He also
told us that she had left her body in a dormant state
somewhere and that‟s why you couldn‟t find her.” “It‟s because she hid her essence in Eric!” I said,
amazed at the sudden truth of it.
“That‟s right, and even if we could have found her
dormant body, we wouldn‟t necessarily be rid of her.
Unless we could find her essence, she could enter
any other receptive mind and hide again.”
“Is he sureshe‟s gone from here?”
“Yes, before he rid Eric of her, he did all kinds of
rituals making sure she couldn‟t penetrate any of us
or those connected to us here. He tried to trap her,
but she was ready for that and she got away.” “Does Eric remember anything about his past?” “Not yet, I think it‟s because he‟s so upset about
what happened. Allwain had to give him something
to calm him down and let him sleep for a while.” “He shouldn‟t feel bad. It wasn‟t him after all, it
was Luena acting through him.”
“Oh, I‟m glad to see you‟re awake,” said Sarah as
she peeked in the door, “let‟s get you dressed and
how about something to eat?”
“Well I did have a better offer earlier…”
Quinn laughed, “She‟s all right, you don‟t have to
worry about her anymore Sarah.”
“Are the other girls up yet?”
“Just. Now out Quinn! She‟ll see you later.” “All right, I can take a hint,” he said as he rose to
leave.
“Quinn thanks for staying with me.”
“Where else would I be Kat?” he said then smiled
and gave me a wink as he closed the door.
“Did you get me to bed? I don‟t even remember
changing Sarah.”
“You were close to going dormant yourself when
they brought you home. Between the shock and the
exhaustion, I wasn‟t sure when you‟d be awake.” “I‟m still not feeling very strong, but I can‟t wait to
see the girls, get my strength back and try to help
Damien. Sarah, help me up and get me dressed!” While Sarah was helping me get dressed, she told
me that Quinn had actually brushed my hair until I
fell asleep and then held me in his arms until just
after sunrise this morning. It was only then that he
went to check on Damien and Eric, returning to my
side so he would be there when I woke up.
“He‟s so sweet,” I sighed.
“All the brothers have been in and out checking
on all of you. Of course your parents and Allwain
were here as well. That‟s going to have to do,” she
said as she finished braiding my hair. “Once you eat,
you‟ll feel better.”
The table was full of food, enough for twenty-five,
I thought. Rosa and Kate had food in each hand,
stuffing their mouths, obviously as ravenous as I
was.
“Hey Kat, how are you?” Rosa asked.
“I feel like I got run over by a hay wagon.” “Eat something, we feel better already,” Kate said. I laughed, “So the two fisted approach helps
then?”
“It sure does,” said Kate while biting into a
chicken leg.
I started at the top of the pile of food and worked
my way down until I couldn‟t eat one more thing. I
washed it down with crimson and water and at last
felt more like my old self. Finally I pushed away from
the table and Kate and Rosa followed me over to the
fire. We arranged ourselves on the soft sofas in total
contentment.
Soon Letta and then finally El dragged themselves
to the table and continued the feeding frenzy. “Did Quinn tell you about Eric?” asked Kate. “Yes, Luena must have been training in the dark
arts for years to be able to project her essence into
another living being and take over his mind.” “I‟m glad Allwain is staying, he‟ll train us to be
able to fight her,” Letta said.
“He already used the ritual ceremony to protect
us from this kind of evil,” El added.
“It‟s going to be up to us to protect everyone else,”
I said.
This statement brought silence to the room, it
was a daunting task.
“We‟ll be ready, we have to be,” Kate said finally. “How does everyone feel? Have we recovered
enough to try to help Damien?” I said.
“As much as I want to, I think we should wait
until tomorrow,” El said as she joined us by the fire. “I think El‟s right, we all want to help Damien,
but we don‟t want to get so weak again right away. If
we wait one more day, not only will we be stronger
but our recovery will be much quicker,” Rosa said. “The Council will be arriving this week and then
we‟re supposed to go to Paris,” Letta said as she sat
on the floor beside us.
“I think we better meditate and see how we still
feel about it,” El said.
“Are you still willing to go if we can‟t help Damien
and he stays in a dormant state for a while?” Kate
said.
“We all felt that it was important that we go, so I
know Damien would want us to do whatever we
needed to do to make us all safe.”
“Another reason for us to find Luena,” Rosa said. “How long do you think Luena‟s essence was in
Eric‟s consciousness?” Letta asked.
“That‟s a question for Allwain.”
“Well what do you want to do next?” Kate said. “Should we go seek him out or meditate and see
how we feel?” El said.
“I‟m for meditating,” I said. “The sooner we can
find Luena the better off we‟ll be.”
So we moved the chairs and sat together in a
circle in front of the fire.
We held hands and closed our eyes letting energy
flow between us. As soon as I felt calm, my first
instinct was to call to Damien.
“Damien are you there?” I called with my mind. Nothing.
“Kate, help me,” I pleaded.
“Damien, are you there?” we called together. “KATRINA!” came his voice, filled with anxiety. “It’s all right, you saved me, and soon you’ll be
well.”
“Why can’t I move?”
“You lost a lot of blood saving my life and your
body went into a dormant state.”
“Eric, it was Eric!” his mind shouted.
“No Damien, it was Luena controlling Eric.” He sighed, “I’m so tired.”
“El healed your wounds, but your body is still
trying to regain its strength. We were all weakened by the ordeal and as soon as we are stronger, we’ll help
you to heal faster. Rest now, I love you.”
“I miss you,” he responded.
“I’m right here.”
I opened my eyes and the girls were all staring at
me.
“We heard you!” they exclaimed.
“You heard Damien too?” I asked looking around
the circle.
They all nodded yes in silent disbelief.
“That‟s amazing! It must have been the
ceremony.”
“We have another question for Allwain,” El said. “Yes, what exactly did that ceremony do for us?”
Rosa said.
“It was nice to hear Damien‟s voice.”
“So you‟ve been able to “talk” to him like that all
this time?” Letta said.
“Pretty much, but it was our secret. I don‟t know
how he‟ll feel when he finds out you all know.” “But think how much of an asset it‟ll be if we can
all communicate with each other like that,” El said
excitedly.
“That‟s true,” Letta said, “I wonder how far away
we can be to use it?”
“We‟ll have to practice to see if this was just
because we were together like this or if it‟s
permanent, but Damien and I could still “talk” when
I got back here.”
“And we have another advantage. No one knows
we can communicate like this,” Kate said.
“That‟s right, not even Luena, she thinks
Damien‟s gift is just being able to put thoughts into
receptive minds.”
“Damien knows about all ourgifts, so I can‟t
believe he‟ll stay mad just because we know about
his,” Kate said.
“This really was kind of an accident. I just had an
overwhelming feeling come over me to use all of our
energy to try to contact him.”
“Well it worked and you feel better now knowing
he‟s going to be all right,” El said.
“I‟m sure it was only because we were holding
hands that we could hear both of you, I don‟t think
we could do that on our own,” Letta said.
“This is confusing to us now, but we‟ll figure it
out,” Kate said.
“Now what?” Letta asked looking over at me. “Let‟s take a general look around Paris to see
what we “feel” and maybe something will give us
helpful information.”
So once again we joined hands and let the energy
flow, this time we thought only of Paris. We saw the
river, the tree lined streets, beautiful gardens and
cathedrals. Then suddenly the vision focused. We
could see people in a space lit only with torches.
Their faces were hard to make out because of the
flickering light and the blackness of the
surroundings. There were at least twenty of them
forming a circle around something. As the vision
pulled in closer, we could see a woman lying on a
stone slab and hear people chanting in low monotone
voices.
“Concentrate on their faces so we‟ll be able to
recognize them later.” I heard in my mind.
“I‟ll scent them as well.”
Suddenly we all tensed. We recognized the
woman resting on the stone slab. It was Luena!
Allwain was right; her body was still in its dormant
state!
Frantically I tried to take in everything and
everyone around her. Of those surrounding her most
were strangers to me. As I focused on them, burning
their faces into my mind and memorizing their scents, I came across a scent and a face I did recognize… Damien‟s mother, Daniela! Next to her was another face I recognized from my vision, the one we think must be Luena‟s mother, they both looked a lot like Luena I realized. Suddenly Luena‟s body arched and she took in a deep breath, opened her eyes and looked wildly around. My instincts took
hold and I broke the circle pulling my hands away. “Why did you do that?” Kate said angrily. “I didn‟t want to tip her off. They might scatter.
Until we talk to Allwain and know exactly how
protected we are, I couldn‟t take the chance.” “You‟re right; we don‟t know what Luena knows.
She saw Allwain arrive, but she may not know who
he is,” El said.
“She must know the protection ceremony was
completed,” Rosa said.
“But that‟s to protect us from them,” I said. “That settles it, this can‟t wait, let‟s go talk to
Allwain right now,” Kate said in frustration. We got up and headed right out the door, Thomas
was the Watcher on duty.
“Thomas, we need to see Allwain right away.” “He‟s set up his quarters in the library wing, I‟ll
show you.”
“We walked across the courtyard and into the
hallway behind the library.
“Allwain?” I called with my mind.
“Ah, Katrina, nice to hear your voice, I’m in my
laboratory. Come to the first door on the right, at the
bottom of the stairway.”
“This way,” I said as I led them down the hall. When we got to the door it opened before we even
touched the handle.
“Come in girls, I‟m glad you‟re awake and well. I
know you have a lot of questions, some I can answer
now and some we‟ll have to try to answer together.” His laboratory was full of wooden crates and he
was busily putting things in their places.
“My things are still arriving and more will be
coming with my two apprentices in a few days.” Apprentices? That sounds interesting, I thought. “Where should we start?” Kate asked looking to
me.
“How about telling us exactly what the protection
ceremony did for us,” I said.
“It‟s protected you from evil magic, from any kind
of possession. And it‟s made your bond to one
another even stronger. I‟m sure you‟ll find you‟re gifts
will be stronger and intertwined as well.”
“I think we already found that out. This evening,
we meditated and as I contacted Damien with my
mind all the girls could hear us.”
“We‟ve tried to use our minds to communicate
with each other before, but except for Kate none of
the rest of us could ever hear, until tonight that is,”
El said.
“We need to know if the ceremony will keep us
from being detected when we “look” for things or
people with our gifts.”
“Yes and no,” Allwain said, as he rubbed his chin,
“If you do a general overview you should not be
detected. If you look for certain individuals, they may
be able to detect you, but not block you. Like your
mother Elizabeth told you Katrina, I have made you
each talismans and amulets that will help you with
anything that the ceremony did not and I will keep
looking for things that I can teach you that will help
you.”
“Thank you Allwain, that helps a lot. We were
taking a general look at Paris tonight and we saw a
group of people circled around the body of a woman.
It was Luena,” I said.
“And we saw her consciousness return to her,”
Kate added.
“I broke our concentration then because I wasn‟t
sure we wouldn‟t be detected.”
“We did make sure we would remember every one
of those around her,” Letta said.
“And we recognized two women from earlier
visions,” I said, “Luena‟s mother and Damien‟s
mother.”
“You‟re sure?” Allwain‟s eyes were intense. “I‟ve met Daniela remember, so I was able to
recognize her scent as well.”
“Of course, you may have passed your recognition
on to the others. You see, when you have these
sessions together now, the energy passing between
you lets you share your gifts.”
“Does that mean we can only share each other‟s
gifts when we‟re physically connected?” Rosa said. “Probably, at least for now, but if you practice in
your circle, eventually I think you‟ll be able to master
whatever skill you wish. Now, is this enough to keep
your minds busy tonight or is there something else?” “I did want to ask you about Eric,” Kate said
shyly.
“He was so distraught when he realized what had
happened and how Luena had used him that I had to
give him something to make him sleep peacefully for
a few days. But he‟ll be fine and I hope his memory
will return. I have decided to take a look at his
memories with a spell. If they are too horrific I‟ll be
able to gain the knowledge that I need from them
while saving him from their pain. All right, that‟s
enough for tonight. Go rest and I‟ll see you in the
morning.”
We walked out feeling better about everything,
knowing now that we could “see” Luena at least for now. We were going to get her and all those aligned
with her.
“Want to go to the Watchers‟ compound for a
visit?” Thomas said as we appeared in the hallway. “That sounds nice, we slept all day,” El said. We all agreed so we headed over. We enjoyed the
break and spending some time with the brothers was
just what we needed.
We spent a few hours with them and then went
our separate ways so we could visit with our families. Avery was at the door so we knew Mother was
there, but Gunter was nowhere in sight so Father
must be out.
“Hello Mother,” we said together.
“Girls, thank goodness, Sarah said you were
better, but I was still so worried,” she said as she
rose from the sofa to meet us and give us each a hug. “Where‟s Father?” Kate said.
“He went to his office. Couriers brought another
set of papers and maps from the Americas and he
wanted to look at them right away.”
“We talked to Allwain tonight and he helped
clarify what the ceremony has done for us,” I said. “I‟m glad. Remember to keep these things to your
selves.”
“Mother, we saw Luena tonight,” Kate said. Mother looked shocked, but let us continue. “We were taking a general look at Paris, before
our trip, and we were drawn to a group of people
circling a body resting on a slab of stone. It was
Luena. As we watched, suddenly her body arched
and she opened her eyes,” I said.
“That‟s when we stopped looking,” said Kate, “We
weren‟t sure she wouldn‟t detect us, but Allwain has
assured us she couldn‟t.”
“It‟s good to know you‟ll be able to find her. I‟m
sure your father will be glad as well. Do the five of you still feel you must go to Paris, knowing what you
now know?”
“Yes,” we both replied.
“We all trust your instincts by now.”
“Allwain will help us prepare in these final few
days.”
“The rest of the Council members will be arriving
Monday and Tuesday. The Council business and
final plans for the trip to the Americas are to be
completed by the following Monday.”
“We‟ll get with the others and decide what day we
want to leave,” Kate said.
“I hope that Damien will recover enough to come
with us, if not we have decided we must go without
him,” I said.
“Your need to go is that strong?”
“We feel it is, yes.”
 CHAPTER TWO
We met up with the others in the court yard.
“How were your families doing?” I asked.
“Fine, glad we were awake and well. Although they want to know more, they know not to ask about things we can‟t tell them about,” Letta said. “What are your plans for tonight?”
“I‟m going to sit with Damien, I‟ll see you tomorrow.”
“How about we bring you breakfast and as soon as we feel strong enough we‟ll try a healing.”
“That sounds great. Thanks El, I‟ll see you then.”
As I walked over to Damien‟s, Quinn joined me.
“We were all glad to see you out and about,” he said.
“I feel much better, thanks again for staying with me.”
“That‟s what friends do, just like you did for me when I got back from Paris. There‟s nothing I wouldn‟t do for you, you know that Kat.”
“I feel the same way, Quinn.”
“Going to see Damien?”
“I thought I‟d sit with him tonight.”
“I have to tell you, I had my doubts all along about him, but he proved himself that night. Anyone that would give his life for you is all right in my book.”
“You‟re Watchers; it‟s your job to be suspicious of everyone.”
“Eric is proof that sometimes, no matter what or how you feel about someone, evil can find a way.”
“That‟s why we have to train in every way possible to be as prepared as we can.”
“It looks like Luena won‟t stop. And she doesn‟t care what she has to do to attain power.”
“We have to do everything we can to stop her before she gets established in the Americas.”
As I walked with Quinn up the stairs, I saw a familiar face on the Watcher in front of Damien‟s room.
“Ivan, when did you get back?”
“Just this morning, my Lady.”
Quinn and I always thought he was so creepy, but today he looked so upset I felt sorry for him.
“It‟s all right Ivan; he‟s going to be fine.”
“I should have been here,” he said looking down shaking his head.
“There were five of us by Katrina that night; none of us could stop Eric.”
“Damien saved me from the fate he now endures. There‟s nothing you could have done. Now I would like to sit with him tonight, and I‟d like to speak with you later Ivan. I have some questions about Paris.”
“Of course, I‟ll provide whatever you need, you have only to ask.”
“I won‟t be far Kat if you need me.”
“Thank you both.”
I entered Damien‟s room, a low fire the only light. He was so still, so pale, and even though I knew he would be all right it frightened me and I felt tears starting to fill my eyes. I went to the bed and sat beside him, stroking his face with my hand and kissed his cool lips.
“I missed you,” I whispered in his ear.
“I’m right here,” I heard in my mind.
I couldn‟t believe it and I started to sob.
“I love you.”
“And I love you.”
I crawled into bed beside him, put my head on his shoulder, my hand on his chest and slept a peaceful sleep.
A knock on the door woke me the next morning. I gave Damien a kiss and got up, expecting to let in the girls. Instead, it was Allwain standing alone in the hallway.
“Good morning Katrina, how is Damien?”
“The same, but his consciousness is closer, we can speak easily with our minds now.”
“Good, good. I brought him a potion. It‟s a cleansing for his mind and body and will protect him until he‟s well.”
“The girls will be coming so we can try a healing right after breakfast.”
“Good, now let‟s get this potion into him.”
We lifted him up enough so we could drip the liquid down his throat. He sent me a “yuk” with his mind.
“It’ll help and protect you until you’re well,” I replied.
“That‟s good,” Allwain said, placing the potion bottle into the bag hanging from his waist. “I‟d like you all to come to my laboratory this afternoon for some instruction. I‟ll give you as much help as I can before you go to Paris. Then when you get back we‟ll know more about what we‟re up against and we‟ll fine tune your training.”
There was another knock on the door. This time it was the girls, Letta carrying a full basket of food and drink.
“I‟ll see you later then, goodbye girls.”
“Thank you Allwain.”
“How is he doing this morning?” El said.
“Actually I think he‟s a little better.
“Let‟s eat then, so we can try a healing when we‟re totally refreshed.”
Klaus had sent fresh egg custard with berries and granola, cheeses and cured ham. We ate quickly, finishing it off with some crimson. Crimson is the fresh blood from our Watchers, mixed with an ancient elixir that turns small amounts of blood into large amounts and keeps it fresh indefinitely.
“Is everyone ready?” El asked finally.
“Yes, let‟s try,” I said.
El put her hands on Damien‟s chest and we followed by putting our hands on her back, we slowed our breathing and closed our eyes. “Heal” we all said with our minds. The energy flowing between us felt so much more powerful than it ever had before. It wasn‟t long before El pulled back and we all opened our eyes.
“His color looks much better,” Kate noted.
“Damien, how do you feel? Can you open your eyes for me?” El asked as she leaned over him.
At first nothing happened, then his eyelids fluttered and slowly he opened his eyes. He blinked several times as if trying to clear his vision. I moved so I could get next to him.
“I‟m here Damien.”
He turned his head towards my voice.
“I missed you.”
The girls all cheered and clapped. I kissed him, tears flowing down my cheeks.
“How do you feel?” El said.
“I‟m….I‟m starving.”
“That‟s great Damien, anything else?”
“Actually, I feel like getting up,” he said as he started to sit up.
Much to our surprise he didn‟t even waver, and then he slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed, took a deep breath and reached his arms up to me. I bent, gave him a hug and helped him stand.
“Are you sure you‟re all right, do you want to sit back down?” Rosa said.
“I like it right here,” he said pulling me close.
“He‟s fine,” Kate smirked.
“Drink this,” El said while handing him a cup of crimson, “and we have plenty of food here for you.”
He drank and ate everything we had left in the basket. We answered all his questions, told him why we had been in the chapel in the first place, and about the protection ceremony. He was shocked when we told him why Eric had acted the way he had. What I was holding back was that we saw his mother with Luena‟s in that circle of people in Paris. How was I going to tell him that?
“What day is it anyway?” he asked.
“Sunday morning, the rest of the Council will be here tomorrow. By the way, Ivan is back from Paris,” I said.
“Why don‟t you rest now?” El said.
“Thanks to all of you, I feel fine. I‟d like to get cleaned up, speak to Ivan and then meet this wizard of yours.”
“We‟re to meet him after lunch, Father got some new papers and maps, they‟re in the library, we can meet you for lunch, go to the library and then to Allwain‟s if you like,” I said.
“Sounds good, I‟ll see you then.”
He kissed me, thanked us again and we left him with Ivan.
“Did you feel how much more powerful we were?” Rosa said.
We all agreed the new power was amazing.
“I‟d love to see how it‟s affected our weapon skills. Do any of you want to go work out?” Kate asked eagerly.
“How about trying the sensory training? El did it with me but none of the rest of you have tried it yet. I think it would be a perfect way for us to test our new power.”
Now excited, we raced each other over to the training grounds. After arriving, we agreed it was a five way tie. “That felt good,” Letta said, “I don‟t know about all of you, but I feel fantastic!”
“Gunter, we want to work out, can you set up for us to do sensory work today please?” I asked.
“It would be my pleasure, you‟re sure you all feel up to it?”
“More than up to it, Gunter,” laughed Rosa
Give us your best stuff boys,” Kate challenged.
Gunter made the course wide enough so that we could all go at once. When we walked up to it, I noticed it looked completely different than I had ever seen it before. We‟d really have to concentrate to get through it unscathed.
“All right, remember the idea is to use all your senses except sight,” Gunter said.
“Let‟s focus together for a few seconds.”
We held hands and closed our eyes once again slowing our breathing.
“Ready?” Kate said with her mind. “Ready.” I heard all reply.
We walked to the starting area where we were blind folded.
“First hearing and then scent and we need to talk to each other the entire way,” I said.
We got into our usual fighting positions. I‟m center, Kate‟s on my left, Rosa on my right, El on Rosa‟s right and Letta next to Kate. Once our blindfolds were tied, we started to walk forward together.
“Men right!” El yelled.
“Front jump,” I yelled.
We had to jump over rolling logs while fighting off swordsman and still move forward.
“Horses!” Kate yelled as four horses galloped right at us. I dodged a horse and ran forward.
“Pits on the left!” Letta called.
“And on the right!” El yelled.
“Crouch down, clasp hands!” I yelled as we moved forward again.
Once we touched each other we were amazed, we could “see” with Kate‟s gift and mine.
“Okay let‟s run,” I said with my mind.
We dodged arrows and rocks, we saw men rushing us as we were almost through the course so we stopped and formed a defensive circle, not letting go of each other until the last possible moment. We easily dispatched the Watchers, same rules as always: If a blow with our wooden practice sword is deemed debilitating the recipient is out of the exercise. Then the Vampire Guard came at us, we fought at full speed until Gunter decided to surrender.
“That‟s it! You can take off your blindfolds, not that they make any difference. All of you did a great job.”
“That was fantastic!” Rosa said.
“I told you,” El said.
“Not just the exercise but how we could “see” once we touched,” Letta said.
“It was so clear, not just sharing Kate‟s gift, but every sense was at least twice as strong as what it had been before the ceremony,” El said with amazement.
“I know we just ate, but let‟s hunt, it‟ll give us a chance to use our new gifts in a different setting,” I said.
“Thanks Gunter, we‟ll see you tomorrow,” I called back to him as we started off.
We ran through the west gate, through the vineyard and into the forest.
I stopped just inside the tree line and took a deep breath in. As I concentrated I realized how accurate my reading was, this was going to be very helpful. My senses told me that a group of young stags was grazing not sixty yards to our right.
“What do you see Kate?”
“There are stags to the right, yearlings and two year olds.”
“Normal formation?” Letta asked.
“Sounds good, meet you all in the middle,” I said.
Using our normal circle formation, we each easily took prey. Once we fed and were satisfied, we cleaned the stags and brought them to the edge of the forest where a Watcher would see they were taken to the butcher. Nothing went to waste if we could help it.
“So what should we do now?” Rosa asked.
“Let‟s see if by concentrating together, we can use Rosa’s gift,” I said.
“You mean each try to lift an object instead of just helping Rosa lift an object?” asked El.
“Yes, what do you think?”
“I like it, should we stand or sit?” Rosa said.
“How about we stand in a row, pick a target and see if we can hit it,” Kate said eagerly.
“Very ambitious, why not,” I said.
We formed a line, held hands and each focused as hard as we could.
“What‟s the target going to be?” Letta asked.
“How about the boulder ten feet in front of us?” I said pointing it out.
“Now just concentrate on a small rock about two feet in front of you, and picture it hitting that target,” Rosa said.
As we concentrated, I could feel my hands getting warmer and warmer, soon I heard a stone hit the boulder. Suddenly the small stone I was focusing on rose a couple of feet off of the ground. I flicked my eyes toward the boulder and said “hit it” to myself, and off it flew, hitting the target with a thud. At almost the same time three other rocks hit the target as well.
“We did it!” El exclaimed in wonderment.
“Once my rock hit, it seemed my power was used to help the rest of you to be able to move your rocks,” Rosa said.
Kate said eagerly, “This is great! Let‟s try something else,”
“How about finding out how large an object we can move collectively,” Letta responded.
Kate pointed to her left. “There‟s a smaller boulder over there.”
“Perfect, is everybody ready?” Rosa asked.
This time we concentrated with Rosa to move the boulder and as it started to rise, I heard myself say with my mind, “Throw it.” The boulder went twenty feet, hit a tree and dropped to the ground.
“Wow! Can you imagine how good we can get, if we practice? What a weapon!” Kate said.
“Imagine what we can do withLetta’s gift,” El said.
“We‟d better get back. We‟re supposed to meet Damien for lunch, go to the library and then see Allwain, remember?” I said.
As we started back Letta said, “I can‟t wait to look at the new maps from America.”
Damien was speaking with Father and Mother outside the dining hall when we arrived.
“Here come the girls now,” Father said, “I was just thanking Damien for what he did the other evening.”
“We‟re enormously relieved to see you up and around so soon Damien,” Mother added.
“Thanks to El and the girls, I feel good as new. I hear you received new maps and papers from America, Fredrik.”
“Indeed. Katrina and Katherine requested more detailed city maps and we also received copies of their constitution and books on the laws regarding property ownership.”
“We‟d like to go over them this afternoon before we go to see Allwain, if that‟s all right Father.”
“Fine, fine, shall we have some lunch then?”
We ate again; it seems we‟re always starving. We said goodbye to our families and headed to the library, Damien and I lagging behind.
“You look so much better, I‟m so glad.”
“I really feel good, it was so strange being aware but not having my body able to respond.”
“Well thank goodness you‟ve recovered, I was so worried.”
“I hope Eric will be better soon as well.”
“Allwain said he would let him sleep another day before he uses a spell to check his memories in case there‟s something in them we need to know before we wake him. I guess he was devastated when he found out what happened.”
“It wasn‟t his fault, we all know that now.”
“Did you know Luena was studying the dark arts?”
“No, but in hindsight, there were signs I should have recognized.”
“Like what?”
“She would go off late at night especially during full moons, spring and summer solstice. She was traveling more. She went to Hungary or England and she did spend quite a lot of time in Paris this past year.”
“I…I have to tell you something Damien, something that won‟t be easy for you to hear.”
Damien stopped and looked deep into my eyes.
“I‟m ready, go ahead.”
“We, the girls and I, decided to take a look at Paris, just a general look before we go. In our vision, we saw Luena encircled by a group of people. She was resting on a stone slab seemingly asleep. Damien, that group included Daniela and Antoinette.”
“Both Luena‟s and my mother were…..together? Then what happened?”
“Luena‟s body arched, she took deep breath, opened her eyes and looked around. We think it‟s when her consciousness returned to her dormant body after Allwain chased it from Eric.” I paused watching his face. “I‟m so sorry Damien. Of course it‟s possible that she may be going along with them because they are threatening her.”
“You don‟t really believe that do you Katrina?”
“I want to for your sake.”
“Was that everything you saw?”
“I broke concentration then because I wasn‟t sure she wouldn‟t detect us.”
“Well, now we know some things that they don‟t have any idea that we know.”
“I scented and we all focused the others that were in the room so we will know them if we see them again in Paris, or anywhere else for that matter. Did Ivan give you any news we could use?”
“Not really, maybe you have some more specific questions to ask him.”
I did, I needed to know about that heated discussion he had with the unknown woman, the one Quinn saw when I sent him to observe. This was something I hadn‟t told Damien.
“I‟ll speak with him before we go.”
As I started to walk once again Damien grabbed my hand.
“Not so fast,” I heard in my mind.
He pulled me close. “I hope soon we can stop having to save each other and just love each other.”
“Thatis a lovely thought.”
We kissed and held each other for a few more seconds.
“Come on you two,” Kate called.
“We‟re coming.”
“Promise me we‟ll have some time alone tonight,” he said as we started to walk on.
“I promise,” I said as I squeezed his hand.
As we entered the beautiful library, the girls were already huddled around the table and had opened several of the new maps.
“Look Kat, there‟s even a large map just of New Orleans,” Kate said excitedly.
I went over and looked at the map she and the others had put on top. There were so many streets working away from the river. My instincts told me to run my palm over the entire map to “see” what I could. Everyone seemed to be waiting for what I would find before joining in.
I closed my eyes as I ran my hands over every nook and cranny of what the map called the French Quarter. Every square inch of that area seemed to have its own energy. I got to a section of the city that seemed to repel my touch and when I forced the issue, I felt such a strong evil presence I had to open my eyes to see what was causing it.
“What‟s happened, what did you feel?” Kate asked impatiently.
“I don‟t know. I felt something powerful was trying to keep me from looking at this area right here. I had to use force to get the energy to let me pass.”
“That‟s exactly what happened to me! Except that I couldn‟t get past it,” Kate said.
“Join me then, let‟s just see what‟s going on here.”
As Kate and I joined hands, the girls and Damien put their hands on us and I closed my eyes again.
I could see a large building at the corner of two busy streets, Toulouse and Bourbon the signs said. As we got closer I could also read the buildings name “The French Opera House”. The building had an aura of evil surrounding it. “Show us what we need to see,” I said with my mind. Everyone repeated, “Show us.”
“Brother, we came here after it was obvious we would be defeated, it‟s taken us all this time to build our alliances, recruit and make the covens what they are today.”
“If we don‟t join in the battle to find a way to defeat the royal clans in Europe we‟ll face the same fate we did before, extinction.”
“Petroph, Janko, having the same argument as always?”
“Yes Geoffrey, we do what we want here, plunder, kill, and control through intimidation. Eventually we‟ll rule this land,” Petroph said.
“If it‟s true what we‟ve heard, they are sending covens here. They‟ll destroy us just like before,” Janko said.
“If you weren‟t so bent on total control, killing humans and risking exposure of us all, they would leave us alone,” Geoffrey argued.
“Already those in the west have split away from us; these so called peaceful factions have to be dealt with,” Petroph said.
“I have built an alliance with a rogue European faction, one that feels the same way I do. We could join with them to rid ourselves once and for all of these self righteous royals,” Janko said.
“Why would you trust these rogue vampires Janko? If they would betray their own, I see no reason they would honor an agreement with you.”
“Because they share my hate and my thirst for revenge,” Janko said pounding his fist on the arm of his chair.
“We are expecting news at any moment,” Petroph said.
“Talking about me gentlemen?”
“Excellent timing my dear, what news do you bring?” Janko asked as all three turned towards the obviously feminine voice and form. When the vision showed us the woman, we realized it was the same woman we had seen in our earlier vision, the unknown third woman.
“The news is not good,” she said as she got closer. “When I was here last, I told you of the witches foretelling the prophecy to be fulfilled, the Five, the protectors are one, joined by the ancient rites. We know not of their full power, only that they will be formidable.”
“None of our plans to expose them, bring them out so the human population would rise up and help us destroy them, were successful?” Janko questioned angrily.
“No, the years of planning were destroyed by none other than Luena‟s brother. Not only was the army destroyed but the very meeting that was to bring us to power, brought the Five together.”
“Damn, what of the plans to colonize this land?” Petroph said.
“They move ahead, we will make a stand in Paris, and if the envoy gets through you must take care of them yourselves. Are we agreed?”
As the three shook their heads in agreement, the vision faded and went dark.
Again we were shocked by what we‟d seen and heard. It was hard to absorb it all.
“That woman looks familiar; I know I‟ve seen her before,” Damien said.
“We saw her in earlier visions,” Kate said.
“Quinn said that he saw her in Paris. In fact he said Ivan was having a heated discussion with her outside your apartment there,” I said.
Damien looked away as if he was trying to compose himself.
“I know who she is,” he said with a sigh, “Marie Chartelain Bistadeau, Philepe‟s estranged wife and Gerhardt‟s mother.”
“This just keeps getting better and better,” Rosa grumbled as she crossed her arms.
“That explains a lot,” I said.
“You‟re right, that‟s why she didn‟t want Philepe to see her and her cohorts going into his chateau,” Kate said.
“I just thought of something,” I said. “Remember what she said in the first vision?”
“I knew you‟d join us my son,” Kate recalled.
“Gerhardt?” Damien said. “He‟s going to betray us?”
“What would Gerhardt have to gain by betraying us?” Letta said.
“Let‟s not jump to any conclusions. Like I said, when you told us of the vision in the first place, he might be infiltrating their clan or it could be a spell or something,” El suggested.
“He did give me a strange feeling when he was here the last time. I wonder if he‟ll be here tomorrow with Philepe,” I said.
“Well that‟s not the only thing we learned, how about the fact that there are evil covens already established in the Americas,” Damien said.
“Did you notice that these vampires called us what Allwain called us, „the protectors, the Five‟,” El said.
“We can ask Allwain more about that later,” Letta said.
“We knew something was going to happen in Paris and that we had to go; now we know their purpose is to try to stop the envoy too,” Rosa said.
“They know we‟ll all be together at Philepe‟s,” El added.
“And I told my mother I‟d be at the apartment,” Damien said in disgust.
“How are we going to figure out so many things by the end of the week?” Kate said shaking her head.
“Where should we start?” El asked.
“Allwain wanted to see us this afternoon, let‟s start there,” I said.
 CHAPTER THREE
Ineeded to tell Father what we had learned and urge him to be careful about what was said at council, I thought to myself.

“All our fathers are in danger, how are we going to handle that?” Letta said as we walked.
“And we have to figure it all out in a less than a week‟s time,” El said.
“With help that‟s how. Which is why we‟re going to see Allwain right now,” I said.
We walked from the back door of the library into the hallway that led to Allwain‟s laboratory and started to knock, once again the door swung open on its own.
“Come in! Come in!” cawed a mina bird on a stand beside the door.
Allwain was still unloading crates and going back and forth between the front room and the back putting things in their places. Oddly shaped bottles, small herb-filled boxes and books of all shapes and sizes covered the large table that filled the center of the room.
“Girls, good, good and Damien isn‟t it? Nice to see you. Feeling better?”
“Damien, this is Allwain, Lord of the Wizards.”
“I‟m honored to meet you,” Damien said formally, “we‟re so glad you‟ve decided to stay and help us.”
Allwain stopped, looked up and said, “It‟s essential for all the races that you succeed.”
Kate said seriously, “We‟ve had another vision, Allwain.”
“Tell me everything. Time is short.”
We recounted the entire vision. Between the six of us, we were sure we had remembered everything.
“What made you look at New Orleans in the first place Kate?”
“The first time Father received maps, Kat and I had a feeling of evil and the vision of a woman when we touched that area on the map.”
“So we asked Father to get us more detailed city maps so we could take a closer look,” I said.
“I think you should go to your fathers, describe the men in your vision and ask them if they remember these three men from before the clan wars,” Allwain said and then turned to Damien, “Especially your father, Damien. Discreetly send a courier - today. Ask that he come here.”
“Our advantage once again is that they don‟t know we know about their plans,” I said.
“What about Philepe, what do we say to him when he arrives?” Rosa said.
“If Gerhardt comes with him tomorrow, will you be able to tell if he is tainted by something?” El asked Allwain.
“Yes, all of you will know, that‟s part of what the ceremony did for you. Before you woke Damien, I gave you a potion to protect you from spells and witchcraft too.”
“That‟s what that awful taste was,” Damien said with an involuntarily shiver.
“Yes and I‟ll give you talisman as well.”
“Everyone at the castle has been protected with one, isn‟t that right Allwain?” El said.
“Yes, and I am making more for all those going to the Americas that haven‟t been treated yet. I‟ll be so glad when my apprentices arrive tonight.”
“Before we go speak to Father, I want to ask one more thing,” I said. “In the vision, they mentioned a prophecy regarding the five protectors can you tell us about that? Is it true?”
“Yes there is a prophecy that foretells the coming together of the protectors. It is not a vampire prediction, or from any of the ancient races, but a human one from the lost Far East scrolls. To have a witch see that it could be you five is truly
extraordinary.”
“They tried to stop the ceremony. They must really believe that we are indeed the Five,” Rosa said in awe.
“This is still something we want to keep a secret. For you to help the races survive, sometimes in spite of themselves; you‟ll need to stay anonymous.”
“That‟s not easy when someone is always trying to kill us,” Kate said.
“Is there any amongst you that regrets what is being asked of you?”
We looked at each other, none of us did.
“We need to choose the path that will lead us to our ultimate goal: safety and prosperity for all the races. The Five will need the many. This task was something you didn‟t choose for yourselves. Those that choose to stand with you must make the choice freely, for they will be the difference between your success and your failure. Enough for one day! You go speak with your fathers, have dinner, meditate and I‟ll see you right after your training in the morning.”
We shuffled out into the hall, feeling like we had more questions than answers.
“I‟m going to send that courier to Father, if anyone will remember these three vampires, it‟s him,” Damien said.
We headed over to the Council rooms to join our fathers.
A familiar voice called out. “Well if it‟s not the birthday girls. This is your lucky day.”
We froze not wanting to give anything away.
“Gerhardt, when did you arrive?” I said.
“Just moments ago, where are you off to in such a hurry? I‟d hoped to spend some time getting reacquainted.”
“We have business to discuss with our fathers,” Kate said.
“Why don‟t you all go ahead? I would like to spend some time alone with Gerhardt,” Rosa said while stepping closer to him.
“All right, we‟ll see you back at our apartment when we get ready for dinner,” I said.
“Now let‟s take a walk in the garden, shall we?” Rosa said taking Gerhardt‟s arm and leading him away.
“Thomas, great timing,” I said. “Can you make sure that Gerhardt is watched very closely, especially if he leaves the castle?”
“Everyone is in meetings until dinner, is there anything else I can do for you?” he said looking longingly at El.
“We need to get a message to Father that we need to speak with him alone as soon as possible. We‟ll wait in his office,” I said.
Within a few minutes Father came into his office.
“Thank you for making time for us so quickly,” I said.
“I know if you ask it must be important. What is it?”
“We have seen many things today that will have immediate impact on all our plans from now on.”
Father sat in his chair behind his large oak desk.
“Go on, it sounds ominous.”
“We went to the library and looked at the new maps you just received,” I said.
“Specifically, the new city maps,” Kate added.
“We started with New Orleans since we had a vision from there already once before. This time we saw three males – vampires, they have a coven there, and at least two of the three were brothers,” I said.
“Father, they said they fled Europe near the end of the clan wars and have spent all this time building up their numbers,” Kate said.
“One was named Janko, he wants to come back here and start a war again, his brother Petroph, is content with the covens as they are, evil and free to do as they please. The third one, Geoffrey, said some covens are splitting off, saying that they want the life we‟ve chosen, a peaceful one,” I said.
“Do any of these names sound familiar Father?” Kate asked.
“I‟m still in shock that we‟re too late.”
“Not to late Fredrik, just in time,” said Damien as he entered our meeting.
“Glad you could join us Damien. We should alert all of the Council.”
“Wait Father, there‟s more, something that will take us some time. We need to be sure that the decision that we make now is the right one,” Kate said.
“Father, the men we saw met with a woman, the same woman we‟ve seen before in our visions,” I said.
Damien broke in, “This time we were able to view the vision together and I recognized who she was Philepe‟s estranged wife Marie.”
Father was flabbergasted, but I had to tell him everything.
“In our first vision, she was talking to her son. She was welcoming him to their side.”
“Gerhardt?! You think he‟s going to betray us, even his own father?”
“We can‟t know for sure. There may be another explanation. Maybe he‟s infiltrating their clan,” El said.
“Rosa is questioning him as we speak, if he‟s tainted by something she‟ll know,” Letta said.
“If it‟s the future we saw, it can still be changed. Regardless, Marie is in league with Luena, Daniela and Antoinette.”
“The American clans admitted to helping them try to get rid of you and the girls?” Father questioned.
“Yes and Marie told the brothers that they would make a stand in Paris to stop the envoy. However, if the envoy got through she told the brothers that they would have to take care of it themselves, either on the way or once the envoy reached the Americas.”
“And to think, if we hadn‟t had this news, all your fathers, everyone involved, could have been lost,” Father said sinking back into his chair.
“But we do know Father,” Kate said.
“Now they are truly the ones in for a surprise,” Letta said with determination.
“What about Philepe and Gerhardt, how do we handle them?” Damien said.
“I‟ll need to take Philepe aside before we speak with anyone else. This isn‟t something you‟d want to find out at council, it needs to come from a friend.”
“Let us speak to Rosa first; we‟ll let you know what she found out before dinner,” Kate said.
“Good, that will give me a chance to think about all that you‟ve told me.”
We left Father at his desk still shaking his head in disbelief.
“This has changed everything hasn‟t it?” I said.
“The Council may now wait to send anyone to the Americas,” Letta said regretfully.
“We‟ll definitely need a different kind of
preparation,” Damien said.
“Everything may hinge on what happens in Paris,” Kate said as we got outside.
“I‟m going back to my room, I want to speak with Ivan again and think about everything.”
“I‟ll see you at dinner then,” I said as I kissed him goodbye.
We were nearly at the edge of the courtyard closest to our rooms when we heard Rosa behind us.
“I‟ll see you at dinner and we‟ll continue our conversation,” Gerhardt said as he walked away.
When we turned we saw Rosa wave goodbye as she walked over to us rolling her eyes.
“I deserve an extra dessert tonight,” she said as she got closer.
We rushed up the stairs so she could tell us what she‟d learned. After we closed the door and left our weapons on the table, we fixed ourselves a snack of fruit and cheese from the spread that Sarah had left for us. Then we settled down in front of the low fire that was always in the fireplace to take the dampness out of the air.
“So tell us first what you felt after you spent some time with Gerhardt,” I said.
“I didn‟t sense evil or a taint of any kind; he was his same pompous self.”
“So that means no one is making him change sides against his will with magic.”
“At least not yet and if he agrees to take the potion they won‟t ever be able to take him over,” El said.
“We may have to give it to him without his knowledge,” Letta said.
El responded. “Well at least he‟ll be protected for five years or so. Then he and everyone else will need another dose, that‟s what Allwain told me anyway.”
“I think we should just confront him with what we‟ve seen,” Rosa said.
“Did he seem at all upset with his father or anyone else?” I asked.
“No, as a matter of fact, he was really proud that his father trusted him enough to leave him in charge while he‟s away in the Americas.”
“We saw this vision for a specific reason and the visions have never led us astray before,” Kate said.
“Wait a minute, in the vision she said he made a choice, could it be that they threatened Philepe in order to get Gerhardt‟s promise to help them?” I asked.
“That could mean we may have already changed that future by learning of their plans,” El said.
“That‟s exactly how we should have Father explain all this to Philepe and then let them decide what to say to Gerhardt,” I said.
“As a warning if nothing else,” Letta said.
“We need to look at all the city maps. We have to “see” what we can,” I said.
“You mean find the other covens if we can?” Kate said.
“Absolutely, the Council needs every piece of information that we can give them.”
“I guess we should get ready for dinner and let Rosa tell Father what she thinks about Gerhardt,” Kate said.
I went into my room to wash up and change. Sunlight, filtered by the lovely white oak tree just outside my window, made my room an inviting place to be. I longed to crawl underneath my coverlet and count the knots on the oak ceiling beams until I fell asleep, just like I did when I was a little girl. Suddenly I felt a peace I hadn‟t felt for a long time and I knew just what we needed to do.
“Damien, are you there?” I called with my mind.
“I’m here.”
“Can you meet me in the garden in a few minutes?”
“Of course. Is anything wrong?”
“No, I just want to spend some time with you and discuss a few things, that’s all.”
“See you in a few minutes then.”
I quickly finished dressing, choosing a simple light green dress with dark green ribbons embellishing the waist and sleeves.
“Do you need anything else, Katrina?” Sarah asked as she brushed my hair.
“No thank you. Could you tell the girls I‟ll see them at dinner please?”
Thomas was in the hallway.
“I‟ll be in the gardens Thomas, anything strange regarding Gerhardt?”
“Not that I know of, Max is watching him now. He‟ll change duties in an hour or so when Simon takes over. We should know more by tonight.”
I headed down the stairs and out into the courtyard. The evening guard was changing. The clopping of hooves on the cobbles and the squeal of opening gates filled the air. Damien was already sitting at the far end of the garden gazing in to a pool and feeding the fish. He looked as peaceful as I felt.
“Hello handsome, what were you thinking just then?”
“About how I‟m not going anywhere without you.”
“What are you saying?”
“That there‟s no need to go to America without you.”
“You can read my mind,” I smiled, and held out my hands to him. He reached up for them as he rose and pulled me into his arms. I was totally intoxicated by his scent, a mix of musk, allspice and sweet bay.
“Mmmm I love your scent.”
“That‟s it, just my scent?”
“That‟s important to me, after all scent is my gift, but I guess there are a fewother things too.”
“Oh really?”
We shared a kiss, and then slowly walked through the gardens, savoring our time together and enjoying the flowers, roses and my beautiful lilies.
“What did you want to talk to me about?”
“The fact that I didn‟t want you to go to the Americas without me.”
“And…?” he said as he stopped walking and turned to me.
“What if we don‟t go to Paris now but instead go straight to America, surprise them and pick them off one at a time.”
Damien just stared at me for what seemed like forever, trying to ascertain if I was serious or not. I could see as his expression changed, that he had decided that I was.
“We could leave from Glasgow. Watchers said they saw no sign of vampires there.” I added.
“It will work if we do it right, everything has already been transferred, money, supplies, even weapons. They are in New York this very minute waiting,” said Damien warming to the plan.
“Who‟s there with your supplies? We may need to move them or obtain some things in different locations without drawing any attention.”
“My father provided the guards and a finance minister, as well as legal experts. All loyal, tested individuals, men whom I trust without question.”
“Well, then what do you think?”
“I think if you feel it‟s what we need to do, it‟s what we need to do.”
“Let‟s find the girls and see how they feel about it.”
They were just coming across the courtyard as Damien and I were coming from the gardens.
“We‟re glad we found you two, we need to talk,” Rosa said.
Let‟s go to the library then,” Damien said gesturing that we should lead the way.
Everyone was very quiet along the way, which was unusual. Something was definitely up.
We entered the library and sat down together at the center table. We were so in tune with each other now that when I looked into each girl‟s face I knew that they felt exactly what I had.
“So, we‟re going to America,” I said.
They all shook their heads yes.
As the decision was made, we had all had the same feeling of peace and knowing come over us at the same time.
“Where do we start?” Kate asked.
“First, we need to find out where the other covens are and make a plan,” Damien said.
“What about Paris? We‟ll have to find a way to distract the evil there while we‟re away, if they find out we‟re gone, our families will not be safe,” El said.
“We‟ll figure something out; maybe Allwain can help us with that,” Letta said.
“Let‟s find those covens and see what we‟re dealing with,” I said.
We decided to use the same method we used every time before. Kate and I ran our hands over the cities looking at each more carefully, this time starting in the Northeast.
Portland, Maine, nothing, Boston, Massachusetts.
“Wow, that‟s an amazing amount of energy,” I said.
“We‟ve definitely found something, come on everyone let‟s take a look using all our power,” Kate said.
We all concentrated including Damien. As the vision focused, we could see a ceremony with women and men in black robes circling a white pentagram drawn on the floor.
“Witches,” El whispered.
“Does anyone feel any evil here?” Damien asked.
None of us did.
“They may be helpful, but let‟s ask to see
vampires,” Letta said.
So once again we turned our concentration to the city. Now we could see a large, red brick, two story house. A large white columned porch stretched along the entire front and three dormer windows dotted the slate tiled roof line. The stately manor house was situated atop a hill overlooking a large expanse of grassy lawns and several small outbuildings. The vision pulled us up the long gravel driveway, onto the covered porch and into a front room.
It looked like a parlor or sitting room. Several intimate seating areas surrounded a carved dark wood mantled fireplace.
Two men entered and sat down in the two brown leather wing chairs that flanked the fireplace.
“What news cousin?” said the one to our right.
He was the taller of the two, with short brown hair, thin long face and dark eyes.
“The brothers are restless. With news that none of our efforts to either take over leadership of the European clans or deal with, what could be our biggest threat, the protectors, it‟s understandable,” said the second man.
This vampire had dark blonde hair, medium build and definite English accent.
“You don‟t really believe the babblings of some witch do you?”
“The brothers said it had been confirmed by a reliable source.”
“Just because they saw five girls together at the same time? Are you telling me that now you‟re afraid of five young girls, when we have over two hundred plus years of experience between us? Even if it‟s true about the so called protection ceremony, that wouldn‟t stop us from being able to kill them.”
“I‟m just telling you that Janko is talking about taking the fight back to Europe.”
“He‟s so full of anger that he can‟t see this country presents so much more opportunity than Europe ever did.”
“Then you‟re aliened with Petroph. He wants to make our stand here, make sure the royals don‟t survive if they come here, and keep creating havoc amongst the humans until we‟re in total control.”
“Exactly! What did they know about the progress the royals are making on their plans to establish covens here?”
“They hope to take care of the envoys as they arrive at the ports either in Europe, on their way here or we‟ll take care of them when they land in America.”
“And the so-called Five?”
“To be dealt with in Paris in the next couple of weeks.”
“That strategy gives us some planning time. There are council meetings to attend and important decisions to be made. Something has to be done about the splitting of the San Francisco clan. If we allow clans to rule themselves as they see fit, even if they insist they won‟t bother us if we don‟t bother them, we might as well go back to Europe.”
“When do we travel to New Orleans?”
“The Council will meet in early July as always, on the first night of the new moon.”
“Do you want to get there early to speak with the brothers or just wait for everyone else to arrive?”
“Eventually we will challenge the brothers and lead the Council ourselves, but until then, let them think we fully back them. We‟ll wait and arrive with the others that very day.”
As the vision dissolved Damien said, “Now we have our time frame, we can take out their whole leadership next month.”
“That soon? Can we get there in time?” Rosa asked anxiously.
“She‟s right, that only leaves us a few weeks,” Letta said.
“With the fastest ships, even if we could book passage today and leave tomorrow it would take much longer,” said Damien pulling out the maps and trying to find a shorter route.
“We can do it – look!” said Kate excitedly pointing from Germany across Russia.
“You mean use our speed, and cross the continent on foot?” I questioned.
“We‟d only have to cross this small strait to get to North America,” El said pointing to the Bering Sea.
We looked at each other and as we did our confidence soared.
“We can do this, I know we can,” Rosa said continuing, “We can travel light. We won‟t need much, just crimson and maybe some dried meat because we should still be able to hunt along the way.”
“That‟s right, we can hunt whenever the
opportunity arises and save the crimson for times we can‟t,” Kate added.
“There‟s no need to worry about warmth or light, we have Letta,” Rosa laughed.
“Once we get across the strait, all we need to do is work our way down the coast line,” I said as ran my finger down the map.
“Damien, can you calculate how long it will take us at full speed? Our timing needs to be perfect,” El asked.
“Back to the map, we need to look for that west coast coven and see what we‟re up against,” Kate said.
We went from the center table with our map to the far end table to give Damien some space and give us a chance to concentrate together. Kate and I placed our hands over the map starting with Alaska and worked our way down. When we felt energy come up from the map we stopped.
“Found something, here in Vancouver. Let‟s take a look,” I said.
All five of us closed our eyes and asked to see what we needed to see. When the vision sharpened, we saw a group of what looked like twenty men and women standing in front of seven men who were seated on a platform. The man in the middle rose. He was a tall, well built gentleman with long brown wavy hair combed back away from his handsome face. He was an imposing figure in his dark suit, white shirt and ribbon tie.
“We believe they‟re going to come after us after the Council meeting next month,” he said.
“Why don‟t they just leave us alone? All we want is to live in peace,” said one of the women in the front.
“Because they want to rule these lands not live peacefully on them.”
“Then what are our options Nathaniel?” someone called out.
“We can hide or fight. If we fight, we‟re greatly outnumbered. If we hide they‟ll search us out and kill us one by one. Even if they don‟t find us, we face a life in isolation.”
“If we had more time, I think we could find allies amongst the other two clans. Our former clan in San Francisco, I think, would leave us alone.”
“We could go to Europe, get some support and come back then.”
“Whatever we decide, we need to do it soon,” Nathaniel said.”
The vision faded.
“That was good information. This coven will be helpful, I‟m sure of it,” Kate said.
“Could we contact this Nathaniel on our way through his area?” El asked.
“I don‟t think we can risk it,” I said shaking my head as Damien joined us.
“What did you see so far?” he asked.
“There‟s a peaceful faction, part of the San Francisco clan that broke away,” Rosa said.
“They‟re here,” Kate said pointing to Vancouver on the map.
“I think Katrina is right,” Damien said to El, “If anyone is alerted to our coming, everything‟s lost. These aren‟t fledglings; these are cunning old world vampires with centuries of experience.”
“I think they‟re bullies and that it‟s been a long time since they‟ve had a real fight,” El said, her arms crossed and a look of defiance on her face.
“Even more reason to surprise them now. If they get help from Luena‟s evil coven they‟ll be much harder to beat,” I said.
“It seems like we can pass by San Francisco too,” Letta said.
“It looks like we have to concentrate on the brothers in New Orleans and the cousins coming from Boston,” Damien said.
“If we get a chance at Marie Bistadeau, I say we take her out as well,” Rosa said.
“What is everyone feeling right this minute about our plan?” I said.
“It‟s right,” Damien said with confidence.
Everyone answered in agreement.
“I‟m getting the feeling we have to go without anyone knowing, not our fathers, not Watchers, no message to America nothing,” I said.
“What about Allwain?” Letta asked.
“If I‟m right he already knows our plans,” I said.
“So Damien, how long will it take us to get to New Orleans from here?” Kate said turning to face him.
“Five days at full speed, stopping only to feed and rest but not sleep.”
“We need to allow time for the unexpected and to observe,” El said.
“It won‟t be full-on warfare like we‟ve been having. We need to surprise them and pick them off one by one,” I said.
“Then what; once we eliminate the evil?” Kate asked.
“We have to head back immediately; we still have the danger here to contend with. If we stay, we risk being discovered and if discovered we risk letting Luena hurt our loved ones,” El said.
“Let‟s go have dinner and think about this some more,” Kate said.
As we walked out of the library we saw someone else walking away… Gerhardt.
 CHAPTER FOUR
Rosa took off and caught up to him. “Going to dinner Gerhardt?”
“Rosa, you startled me. I thought I‟d see if we could sit together, but you looked busy so I didn‟t want to bother you. What were you all working on so intently anyway?”

“Rosa, Gerhardt wait for the rest of us,” Damien called as we rushed to join them.
“I was just asking Rosa what you all were so intently discussing back there.”
“We just got new maps and were deciding where we want Damien to go first,” I said.
“Where would you go if you were going Gerhardt?” Rosa said as she put her arm into his.
“I really have no interest in the America‟s at all. I want to make sure my family is successful and our family name remains beyond reproach.”
“What makes you think your good family name is in jeopardy?” I said.
He stopped and looked at each of us in turn as if trying to assess our trustworthiness. Then he looked directly into Damien‟s eyes. I‟d never seen him like this before, serious, angry and determined.
“It‟s our mother‟s,” he said to Damien.
Damien looked shocked, we all did.
“We‟d better go back to the library,” I said and then turned to go back.
“Ivan,” Damien called and Ivan came around the corner. He was the best at lurking nearby without being seen, it still gave me the creeps, but I‟m trying to get used to it.
“Please see that we‟re not disturbed, and send someone to notify our families that we‟ll be late for dinner.”
When we got back inside the library and closed the door, we all sat together around the center table and waited for Gerhardt to tell us more. He sighed and looked down at the table for a few moments. “He doesn‟t know we know anything”, I thought; “this must be really hard for him”.
“It‟s all right Ger; we‟re all your friends remember?” I said trying to put him at ease.
“Our mother‟s, Damien‟s and mine are in league with Luena and her mother. They want to replace the Council and rein terror down on the human race. To make matters worse, now they know that they have to kill the five of you to do it.”
He hadn‟t looked up the whole time he was talking.
“How do you know all this?” Rosa inquired.
“They‟ve been trying to get me to join them; to betray all of you. I‟ve been to some meetings they‟ve held in Paris. I swear I just went along with them to see what they were up to. I‟d never betray my father, never!”
“Does your mother know how you feel or do they think you may turn?”
“She thinks that I‟ll help her, some witches and warlocks have joined them, and they spoke of an alliance with someone in America as well.”
“What did she promise you if you joined them Gerhardt,” Damien said angrily.
“That they would spare my father,” Gerhardt said still looking down shaking his head.
Damien stood, fists clenched, face flushed red. “This has to stop, right now!”
“What can you tell us about their plans once we go to Paris?” Rosa said.
“I don‟t have specifics yet, I do know that Katrina is their main target. They believe the Five‟s power is based in her. Luena doesn‟t want to kill you, Katrina, but to use you somehow.”
“Are you willing to help us instead Gerhardt?” I asked.
“Yes, of course I will. I‟m supposed to be spying on you, gathering information about your plans, or to uncover anything I can about your gifts. They are especially interested in your gifts.”
This was very good news, we could make all this work in our favor, I was sure of it.
“You did the right thing by telling us, Ger,” Rosa said
“We‟re all with you,” Kate said.
“I know this is hard Gerhardt. I had to go through the same feelings when my mother came to me not long ago and said she wanted to get to know me. After Luena failed to turn me, they must think my mother was the only one left that might have been able to convince me.”
“If you‟re right about them wanting to take Katrina and then kill the rest of us, they may want to use Damien as bait,” Rosa said.
“Or use Katrina to make Damien do as they wish.”
“We have a lot to think about,” El said.
“How about some dinner? We‟ll think about things tonight and then meet back here after training tomorrow,” I suggested.
“I hope you feel better now Gerhardt,” El said.
“You have no idea how relieved I am! I‟ll see you tomorrow; right now I‟m going to tell my father everything!”
As he walked away, I felt relieved as well.
“Well that‟s not what we expected was it?” I said as we made our way to the dining hall.
“Allwain said this morning that those that join us of their own freewill will make the difference between our success and our failure, remember?” Letta said.

Allwain placed his special herbs and oils into the leather pouch he never went anywhere without, all the while thinking that he hadn‟t felt this good in a hundred years. It wasn‟t just that the El and the girls helped him regain his strength after the ceremony, a healing that added years to his life, it was having purpose again and feeling needed. He sighed, slung the pouch strap over his shoulder and headed out the door. He was now fully familiar with all the corridors and secret doors that led to the labyrinth of underground passageways below the castle Mormont. With all the vampire council members, their aids and Watchers present he didn‟t want to be seen. He pushed the right side of the wall across from his laboratory, not physically, but with his mind. It pivoted open easily and as he walked into the darkness, he summoned energy stored within him and turned it into light. It surrounded him, making his entire body a lamp and down the cold stone stairway and into the narrow passageway he went. It would take him under the entire compound to his destination.

When he got to the stairs leading up to his exit location, he dimmed the light surrounding him and headed outside. After he determined his path was clear, he walked down the hallway and up the stairway to his left.

“Quinn good to see you, how is he?” he whispered when he got to the door.
“Still sleeping, no visitors just as you asked. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“I won‟t know until I see him, just keep watch and I‟ll let you know.”
The fireplace flickered golden light across Eric‟s face as he lay on his back in the large bed. He looked like a small, peaceful child.
Now hopefully, what was found in his memory wouldn‟t add to the pain left over from Luena‟s control.
He placed the leather pouch on the bedside table and asked the candle to light, which it did.
“Now Eric I‟m here to help you, so just relax and breathe in deeply.”
Even though Eric wasn‟t awake, he responded, his breathing slowed and his arms and hands seemed to relax.
Allwain pulled herbs and oils from his pouch, mixed them into a paste, and rubbed them onto Eric‟s skin just beneath his nose. His preparations done, he stepped back, closed his eyes and recited the rites needed to open Eric‟s memories to him.
He could see Eric as a young boy. He was running. He kept looking back, laughing.
“I‟m too fast for you Karl, you‟ll never catch me,” he laughed as he turned back and ran on.
“Early childhood seems fine, let‟s look further.”
“I don‟t want to go away to school Mother! Please try to convince Father to let me stay and fight with him and Karl.”
“No, Eric one of my sons must be safe, this discussion is over, and you leave for Brussels in the morning.”
Allwain skipped through Eric‟s memories trying to find more.
“This letter has just been delivered from your homeland, Eric.”
“Thank you,” said Eric as he opened the envelope with his family seal on the back.
“We sent word for the Prussian clan to come to our aid, but none has come and we are being
overwhelmed. Karl was killed trying to get your mother to safety; her whereabouts and fate are unknown. We have taken the few of us left and are seeking sanctuary. Our Watchers have fled and are safe in the Celtic Kingdom. Do not look for us now. I’ll send for you when we are safe, your father Magnus.”
“The clan wars; Eric‟s not a made vampire he‟s a Danish Prince!”
Allwain quickly looked through the years of memories, finding that when no message ever came asking him to join his family, Eric had gone looking for them but found nothing. He‟d been traveling country to country still looking when Luena came across him. He was so weak and distraught she easily controlled him, saying she “only wished to help him and that she may know where his family might be”.
“All right, he can handle these memories,” Allwain thought,“I can help him.”
Allwain went back to his pouch and retrieved a small vial of clear liquid. He wiped the herbs off Eric‟s face, uncorked the vial, raised Eric‟s head and gently dripped the liquid onto his tongue.
“Eric you will wake now, refreshed and at peace with both your past and your new life here. Wake now!”
Eric opened his eyes and looked over at Allwain.
“Be calm, you‟re well, Damien is fine. I have chased Luena‟s consciousness from you and given you a potion which prevents anyone from doing anything like that to you again. Do you remember everything now?”
“I…I know who I am: Eric Wilheilm from the royal house of Denmark.”
His eyes were wide as the shock of this realization set in.
“My family, I couldn‟t find them.”
“I know and I might be able to help you. You could go back, claim your rightful place.”
“I care nothing about the title, ruling the clan or sitting on council. This is my home now and my destiny.”
“I see great things to come for you Eric. By joining us with freewill, you tip the balance of power in our favor.”
“Quinn, if you please, go and get some food and drink for Eric and I think he‟d like to wash up as well.”
“So everything is all right?”
“Just fine,” Allwain said gleefully. The smile beaming across his face was successful in making Quinn feel at ease.
As Quinn crossed the courtyard and approached the kitchen, he saw Katrina and Damien coming out of the dining room.
“Katrina, Damien,” he waved trying to get their attention.
“Quinn, is something wrong?”
“No I just wanted you to know Eric is awake and Allwain says he‟s fine. I‟m getting him something to eat right now.”
“Do you think we would be allowed to see him?” Damien said.
“I don‟t see why not.”
“What‟s going on?” Kate asked as she and the girls came over to join us.
“Eric‟s awake; Allwain says he‟s doing well, so we‟re going over to see him.”
“We want to come,” Kate said.
We waited as Quinn gathered a full basket of food, wine and crimson and we all headed over to Eric‟s room.
“I‟m so glad Eric is better,” El said.
“I wonder if he has his memory back,” Rosa said.
“I hope so. I don‟t know about the rest of you but I feel much better tonight than I did this morning,” Letta said.
“You‟re right, Damien‟s well, Gerhardt has joined us and now Eric is awake. Things are looking up,” I said.
When we got to Eric‟s room we knocked on the door and Allwain opened it.
“I have some food for Eric and several well wishers,” Quinn said as we followed him into the room.
Eric, who was sitting up in bed responded, “Thank you Quinn. Damien how are you? I can‟t tell you how happy I am to see you up and well.”
“I feel the same way about you; we‟ve both been Luena‟s victims and now we‟re both free of her.”
“Well, we‟re all glad that both of you are well, aren‟t we,” Kate said as she smiled lovingly at Eric.
“I‟m starving, what‟s in the basket?”
Quinn unloaded meats, cheeses, fruit, bread, wine and of course crimson.
“We‟ll let you eat and rest, see you in the morning if you‟re up to it,” Damien said.
“Kate, would you stay with me for a while?”
“Of course Eric, there‟s nowhere else I‟d rather be,” she said as she walked over and sat beside him.
“The rest of us will see you tomorrow then, good night Eric,” I said.
“He nodded, but didn‟t look away from Kate.” We filed out, Allwain bringing up the rear. “Can we speak with you for a moment Allwain?”
“Of course, let‟s go back to the laboratory shall we?”
Quinn took up his post in front of the door and we followed Allwain into the underground passageways. He lit the way with a glow around his body, not that we needed it.
We left the passageway at a point right across from Allwain‟s laboratory.
“Come in, come in,” cawed the mina bird, whose name we found out was Tina.
“So your plans have changed have they?” Allwain stated more than questioned.
“I told you he‟d know already,” I said. “Evil covens already exist in the Americas. We have had visions of these covens and learned they plan to attack and kill the envoy in Paris if they can. If they don‟t ambush them somewhere along the way, they will once the envoy lands in America.”
“We‟ve also learned of their plan to kidnap Katrina and try to kill the rest of us,” Rosa said.
“We don‟t have time to sail, we‟re going to use our speed and go across Russia,” Damien added.
“How long will it take you at full speed?”
“Five days stopping only to eat and rest but not sleep.”
“These leaders have a council meeting set for July. We could use that gathering to rid ourselves of their leaders then.”
“Don‟t wait,” Allwain said with conviction.
We looked surprised, so he elaborated.
“Instead, go to their covens and take out the evil in each.”
“We‟ll have to delay the envoy; we need some kind of excuse for that, so Luena won‟t get suspicious.”
“How about some nasty weather at the ports?” Letta suggested.
I laughed, “Leave it to you to think of that solution.”
“That‟s a brilliant idea Letta. I‟m quite good at conjuring storms and wind, it‟ll be great fun. Your talismans are ready. I‟ll get them for you,” he said as he reached under the table and pulled up a small leather pouch.
“Here, I have one for each of you,” he said as he handed us each a ring made out of white jade. “It goes on the thumb of your right hand; that is if you‟re right handed, so Kate will wear hers on her left thumb.”
“Someone talking about me?”
“Kate good, you‟re just in time to receive your talisman.”
We all put them on our thumbs.
“It‟s cold,” El said with surprise.
“You‟ll get used to it, it‟s when it gets hot you‟ll need to pay attention. The heat means evil is near. You can use the talismans to lead you to the source, even if you‟re in a group. You can either get close enough to them or concentrate on each person to find which one it is. Trust it, it won‟t ever be wrong.”
“And these talismans won‟t be detected?” Kate asked.
“The ceremony prevents that.”
“Allwain, we‟ve decided that we can‟t tell anyone else what we‟re going to do,” I said.
“I think that‟s wise, your first instincts are always right. Now as to your trip, are you prepared? I know language won‟t be a problem, you each speak at least four, isn‟t that correct?”
“Yes as part of our training we each were taught English as well as at least two other foreign languages,” Rosa said.
“Damien, Eric and El speak Russian as well,” I said.
“It‟s another way you protect yourselves and your race. So is there anything else you need from me? Of course we can always contact each other with our minds, you‟re not alone.”
“When do we go?” El asked.
“You‟ll need to build up your strength. I‟ll see that the crimson is made stronger, more human blood and a stronger elixir will do it. I want you to drink it even when you don‟t feel hungry. Two days should be enough to prepare you and you‟ll take some with you of course.”
“That‟s it then, we leave day after tomorrow, in the dark of night,” Damien said.
“Allwain, Gerhardt has given us vital information and wishes to join us against Luena and his own mother,” I said.
“You don‟t seem totally sure about him?”
“Better safe and cautious I think.”
“He, along with every council and family member that has arrived so far has taken the protection potion I made.”
“Father was relieved that Gerhardt told Philepe everything,” Kate said.
“Philepe wasn‟t as shocked about Marie as Gerhardt, but the fact that she was blackmailing her own son made him livid,” Damien said.
“I think the Council should hold off sending anyone to the ports until we get back,” El said.
“Once you‟ve gone, I can inform your fathers of your mission, not until then. Now go and get some rest, take another look at these covens tomorrow.”
We were all tired and had a lot to think about.
“Stay with me tonight,” I said to Damien with my mind.
He shot me a shocked look but not a reply.
“I held you all night and that’s what I need tonight,”
I added.
“That sounds wonderful. I’ll get changed and come
over after that.”
“I can‟t wait to sink into my hot bath,” Rosa said
with a sigh when we got back to our rooms. “You girls look exhausted. I‟ll get you something for
you to snack on after your baths. Good thing we had
new training and hunting outfits made for you, these
are disgusting,” Sarah said as she left for the
kitchen.
“She‟s going to be beside herself when we leave for
a couple of weeks without her,” I thought.
A knock on the door came just after we were all
neck deep in our hot bath water. Thomas wanted to
spend some time with El so he was waiting in the
common room, Sarah informed me.
“Katrina,” I heard in my mind.
“I’m here.”
“I just received a message from my father about the
brothers. I need to see if this new information jogs
your father’s memory of them, so I’ll be a little late.” “I’ll be here....always.”

“Ah Damien, come in, what can I do for you?” “Fredrick, I‟ve just received a message from my father. He remembered something about these brothers that now spew their evil across New Orleans. He said he thinks they are Swedish. Petroph and Janko Vasa, do you remember anything about them?”
Fredrik sat firmly back in his chair. He looked startled as the two names brought forth memories that had been, up until this point, locked safely away.
“I don‟t know why I didn‟t realize who they were earlier. Of course it‟s been over a hundred years now. Their evil crossed borders throughout the Baltic‟s, they wiped out entire peaceful Royal families. It took us two decades to root them out. I was assured at the time that they had been killed.”
“Do you remember who told you that? It seems they have betrayed us.”
“It was the Wahl‟s, cousins I believe, from the British Isles. Part of their clan I was told went to seek sanctuary not long afterward and they haven‟t been heard from since.”
“We saw cousins today in our vision of the evil clan that inhabits the east coast of America. Boston to be exact and we did detect a British accent.”
“So they betrayed us and followed the brothers to the Americas. That‟s incredible!”
“They were smart, by saying that they were seeking sanctuary they left the door open in case they wanted to come back, knowing that no one would go looking for them there.”
“If you want to learn more about these brothers or the cousins, there are linage scrolls and clan war histories in the library. What you won‟t find in the histories, is their utter ruthlessness. We will have to have a plan to deal with them Damien, and we will need it as soon as possible.”
“We will, I promise you Fredrik. Well, I‟ll leave you then, give my regards to Elizabeth for me will you?”
“I will, Damien. I know your father is proud of the way you‟ve handled everything. This couldn‟t have been easy.”
“It‟s Katrina. Her love and trust keeps me sane.”
“I‟m glad you have each other, I‟ll see you
tomorrow.”
“Katrina, I’m on my way,” Damien called to me with his mind.

“I’m out on the balcony,” I called back.
“Hello Damien,” El said as she met him at the door. “Thomas,” he said as he greeted the Watcher, “El, I

thought everyone would be sleeping by now.” “I wanted Thomas to stay,” she said as she looked
up at him. “We haven‟t seen much of each other.” “I‟m staying too,” Damien said quietly as he passed
them and made his way out onto the balcony.
He came over behind me and gave me a kiss on the
neck while wrapping his arms around me and gently
pulling me close.
“Beautiful, calm night isn‟t it.”
“The calm before the storm, perhaps?”
“Did your Father remember anything about the
brothers?”
“He did and the news brought back memories to
your father as well.”
“What kind of memories?” I said as I turned to face
him.
“From the clan wars, over a hundred years ago the
brothers wiped out entire Royal families in the
Baltic‟s. Your father said to study those histories in
the library.”
“That‟s for tomorrow,” I whispered as I put my
hand against his cheek. “I told Sarah that El and I
wouldn‟t be alone tonight so we won‟t be disturbed.” I took his hand and led him back into the common
room. It was empty now, the fire crackled, throwing
flickering light and shadows across the walls and
ceiling. The room felt warm and peaceful. We walked
together hand in hand down the wide hallway
leading to my room.
Once inside I helped him take off his boots, wiped
them clean and put them beside the bed. I put my
arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.
When the kiss ended, I backed away, untied my robe
and let it slip from my naked shoulders and onto the floor. Although the room was lit by a single candle, I could still see the love and wonder that filled his eyes.
 CHAPTER FIVE
Iwoke early still in Damien‟s arms, I kissed his bare chest and slipped out of bed. After I put on my robe, I went out to the very end of the hall, to the bathroom that served us all. When I came out, Sarah was rushing towards me with a full tray of food.

“Good morning Sarah.”
“Katrina, I didn‟t expect you up so early,” she said a wry smile on her face. “Allwain sent these flasks of crimson for you, something about a newformula.”
“I‟ll take one. We‟ll be out for breakfast later.”

Damien, Gerhardt and Eric joined us at the training grounds and we had the best workout ever.
“What happened to you?” Gunter asked Eric, “You went from promising to elite overnight.”
“My memory is back, thanks to Allwain, which means my training memory is back as well.”
“Well, whoever trained you was a master.”
“My older brother trained me, and yes he was very good, but your training methods, Gunter, are superior I think.”
“Will you be going home now that you remember your family?” Rosa asked.
“I wish that was possible, but my brother Karl is dead and my parents are still missing. I now no longer have a home. I‟ve been looking for them and any clues to what happened to them, all this time.”
“I‟m sorry Eric, maybe you wish your memory hadn‟t come back,” El said.
“No, I have wonderful memories of my childhood and the love we had for each other.”
“Maybe Father knows something about your family,” Kate said.
“Fredrik said there are lineage scrolls in the library, what is your family name?”
“Wilheilm, my father‟s name is Magnus and my mother is Brigitta.”
Damien‟s eyes widened and his jaw dropped open in shocked recognition.
“What is it Damien, what‟s wrong?” I said.
“Eric do you want to tell them or should I?”
“Tell us what?” Kate asked.
“You can Damien, if you wish.”
“Eric‟s not a made vampire; he‟s the crown Prince of Denmark. He‟s more royal than any of us!”
We didn‟t know what to say, but it explained a few things.
“That‟s why you were feeding like we do,” Letta said.
“And why the sunlight never bothered you,” El added.
“You could go back, claim you rightful place,” Rosa said.
“NO, if my father lives, he‟s still King, if not, I want nothing to do with the title. My place is here, I feel that with all of my being.”
“That‟s what I‟m feeling too,” Gerhardt said. “We were meant for this, to be joined together at this time, in this place.”
We all looked at the two of them in amazement.
“What‟s changed you so much Gerhardt?” Rosa said to him.
“And so quickly,” I added.
He thought for a moment and then said, “Purpose, having a purpose in life has changed the way I feel about everything.”
We understood because we felt the same way.
After lunch we all headed to the library to do some research.
“The first thing we should look for is anything to do with the Baltic clan wars,” Damien said.
“How much are we going to reveal to Gerhardt and Eric?” Kate said.
“They‟ve both met Allwain and I feel that we can trust them both,” Rosa said.
“We may need them, but I still think we should keep some things to ourselves,” I said.
“They joined us of their own free will, either we trust them or we don‟t,” El said.
I closed my eyes so I could concentrate, how did I feel about them really? When I opened my eyes we were all looking at each other.
“We agree then?” Damien asked each of us.
“They‟re in,” I said confidently as we all nodded in agreement.
We pulled out the books and scrolls we needed. We had to learn all we could about these four men and those who might be with them.
“Look, here‟s the brothers‟ lineage,” Kate said. “It shows the entire line on their mother‟s side being wiped out in the clan wars.”
“Well we know that‟s not true, how about their father‟s side,” Letta said.
“Father dead as well it says. Two uncles are alive however.”
“I remember them,” Damien said. “They were at council last month.”
“Last month, it seems like years have passed since then,” Rosa said.
“Here‟s Eric‟s family,” I said. “Magnus Wilheilm and Brigitta Danske - whereabouts unknown, Son Karl, deceased, son Eric - deceased,” Kate said.
“Who sits on Eric‟s throne?” I said.
“Magnus‟ sister had a son Gustav; he sits on the throne of Denmark, he has a son Kale who is the new Crown Prince,” Kate said.
“I told you, it‟s not mythrone.”
“Eric, glad you‟re here,” Damien said.
“I hope you‟re glad I‟m here as well,” laughed Gerhardt as he followed Eric into the library.
“We‟re glad both of you joined us,” I said.
“What made you pull the lineage scrolls?” Gerhardt asked as they approached the table.
“We‟re looking for information on two brothers.” Kate said.
“Why, who are they?” Eric said.
“They head a council of three evil clans…in America,” I said.
“This must be the alliance my mother spoke of,” Gerhardt said.
“Yes, Janko and Petroph Vasa, Swedes reported to have been killed in the clan wars, after wiping out entire Royal families in the Baltic‟s,” Rosa said.
“Now they have been discovered very much alive,” I said.
“Not only that, but the very ones that reported to our council that the brothers and their entire family had been killed, the Wahl cousins are also alive and the head of a clan there.”
“The Wahl‟s?” El said rifling through the scrolls. “Here they are and here is my father, we‟re distant cousins.”
“Fredrik said they told their families they were seeking sanctuary with the others, but obviously they had joined forces with the brothers and followed them to America.”
“All this talk of how we needed to hurry to start clans in the new world and we‟re already too late?” Gerhardt said angrily.
“No, no we‟re not too late, we‟re just in time,” Kate said. “Before they can join with Luena‟s clan and destroy all our fathers have worked for, we plan to wipe them out.”
We told Eric and Gerhardt our plans to go to America.
“How can we help?” Eric said.
“Let‟s finish looking at the histories and see if we can find any others that might be tied to them.”
As we went through the Baltic wars one thing became very clear, these were the brothers that attacked Eric‟s family and killed his brother Karl.
“Clearly I am meant to go with you. The same fates that brought me here wish me to have my revenge.”
“As much as we feel for you Eric, you must understand that this is bigger than all of us. We have to make sure not to alert any of the clans before we take out their leadership,” I said.
“That‟s right, if Luena finds out we‟re gone, all our families, all the peaceful clans are in danger,” El said.
“I would never jeopardize my new family, but I‟m glad helping will finish a chapter in my old family‟s history.”
“We leave tomorrow during the night, no one must know, understood?” Damien said.
“Allwain mixed us enhanced crimson to drink today and take with us to make sure our strength is at its peak,” El said.
“Even though it‟s summer, it won‟t be warm in Russia. We don‟t know how much we‟ll be able to hunt along the way,” Damien said.
“We‟ll be gone at least two weeks, what about those gathering in Paris?” Gerhardt said.
“While we‟re gone Allwain is going to make the weather extremely bad in both Paris and at the ports, delaying the envoy and our trip to Paris,” I said.
 CHAPTER SIX
As Sarah washed my hair, she talked about Klaus our cook and how her joints were telling her the weather was going to change for the worse. As I listened to her talk I felt so relaxed and knew that this was one of the simple moments in my life that I would always cherish.
“What do you want to wear tonight Katrina?”
“I want to wear the lavender silk with the embroidered daisies.”
“Are you sure it‟s not too simple Katrina?”
“It‟s become my favorite, it‟ll be fine.”
“All right, if that‟s what you want, I‟ll get it for you.”
I dressed and proceeded to the common room to brush my hair out in front of the fireplace. Kate and Letta were already there.
“I wish we could go right now, the sooner we can eliminate the brothers the better,” Letta whispered.
“All right, let‟s finish your hair and get you all on your way shall we?” Sarah crooned.
She helped put all our hair up on top of our heads and shooed us out the door. Thomas, Quinn and Simon were in the hall ready to escort us. Thomas gave El a hug and a kiss and the rest of us let them linger while we headed down the stairs and across the courtyard.
“Haven‟t seen much of you lately,” Quinn said as we walked.
“I saw you this morning at training.”
“You know what I mean, you‟re up to something, I can tell.”
“We‟ve just been busy trying to find Luena and their friends before they can hurt anyone else or establish themselves in America.”
I could feel him quietly studying me.
“We need to have a talk, you and I.”
He looked so serious I was sure he knew our plans.
“Well, not right now. Oh, there‟s Father and Mother.”
I was so thankful for the distraction. I never had been able to keep anything from him.
“Katherine, Katrina how are you?” Mother said while giving us each a hug. She seemed nervous; I knew she felt something too.
The others were greeted by their families as well and we entered the reception hall together. Damien and Eric were speaking with the Vikings and someone I remembered being introduced to at the palace reception last month but who he was I didn‟t recall. Damien motioned for Kate and I to come over.
“Katrina, Katherine you remember Axel and Sven I‟m sure.”
“Of course, how nice to see you again.” They towered over us and oozed manliness.
“I‟m not sure if we met,” I said as I turned to the third man and offered my hand.
“This is Prince Kale Gelf, of Denmark,” Eric replied.
I had to try very hard to hide how startled I was. Although, I knew he would be here, still I hadn‟t had time to think too much about it or to prepare for an introduction. “I‟m sorry,” I said as he took my hand my hand, “I‟m sure we were introduced, but there were so many.”
“Don‟t give it another thought, we‟re meeting now and the pleasure is all mine,” he said as he bowed and kissed first my hand and then Kate‟s.
“Rosa, I want you to meet someone,” I said.
“Rosalinda this is Prince Kale of Denmark.”
Rosa reached out her hand, and then turned and looked from me to the Prince.
“I‟d say I‟d forgotten how beautiful you were but that is impossible,” he said after he kissed her hand.
“Why Prince Kale, would you like me to believe you gave me a second thought? As I recall you were surrounded all evening by a bevy of lovely young ladies. After all, I did not receive even one offer for a dance.” She smiled as she looked up at him.
“Something I deeply regret, as I thought we would have many chances to get to know each other, of course circumstances prevented that.”
The rest of us suddenly felt like we were intruding. There was obviously great chemistry between them. I grabbed Kate‟s hand, “What do you feel about him? I asked her with my mind. We concentrated for a moment and felt nothing but good energy.
“He’s…..”
“….one of us.” Kate thought back to me.
“Eric, Damien, what do you feel about Kale?” Eric looked a little startled. I had forgotten we hadn‟t spoken like this since he awoke.
He and Damien looked at Kale who was still mesmerized by Rosa, and then back at me.
“He’ll be very helpful,” Damien said back.
“I think Rosa has met her match,” Eric said.
We all looked over at him wide eyed and not even bothering to hide our shock. Eric looked very proud of himself.
“Let‟s leave them alone,” I whispered.
“I don‟t even think they noticed us leaving,” Kate said.
“So Eric, is this a gift you remember having when you were younger?” Damien asked.
“I don‟t remember having a gift until I met all of you. I have to say, it‟ll be great to be able to communicate with all of you like that.”
“You mean, especially Kate, don‟t you Eric?”
He looked at Kate and she looked back at him and they just nodded.
“Oh, brother,” I said to Damien silently.
“So Eric, how did you feel speaking with Kale? Was it strange - his being your cousin after all?”
“I was apprehensive at first. I didn‟t know how I‟d feel, but he‟s easy to like, he made us feel completely at ease, and as I said before, it‟s not his fault after all.”
“He‟s almost as gorgeous as you are,” Kate added.
“There is a likeness. You can tell you‟re related,” I said.
Kale was taller, but like Eric, had the same wavy blonde hair and light blue eyes. The real difference between them was a cleft that Kale had in his chin.
“Someday I‟ll be able to tell him who I really am,” Eric intoned seriously.
Rosa and Kale were inseparable all evening. We talked with Hun Lee and Chan; it was nice to see them again. We learned, while mingling, that Demitrie was already at the port - a fact that aroused our suspicions. Of course everything made us suspicious these days.
Dinner was lovely, everyone but us was at ease and ready to have a simple normal council meeting in the morning.
After dinner, Father took all the members that were to journey to America, into the Council chambers to discuss the final arrangements. Since Damien was to be part of that group, he joined them.
Rosa went on a stroll with Kale, El wanted to spend some time with Thomas and Kate with Eric, so Letta, Gerhardt and I decided to go see Allwain. It would be interesting to see what he had prepared for us for the journey.
“We never got a chance to tell you, Allwain‟s apprentices have arrived,” Gerhardt said as we walked towards the library and Allwain‟s laboratory. “They‟re Elves.”
Letta and I looked at Gerhardt and then at each other, and quickened our pace, this we had to see for ourselves.
The door opened, again before we could knock.
“Come in, welcome, welcome,” cawed the mina.
“Allwain are you here?”
“You must be Katrina,” said the tall, handsome figure coming out of the shadows.
“She‟s as beautiful as Allwain described,” said the second figure.
“Forgive us. We haven‟t been properly introduced yet.”
“Katrina this is Tao and Valik, Allwain‟s
apprentices,” Gerhardt said.
“I‟m very glad to meet both of you, this is Arletta.”
Tao came forward gracefully and reached for our hands. They seemed as intrigued by us as we were with them.
“I have everything ready for you,” said Allwain as he came out of the back room.
“Tao, are the extra flasks ready?”
“Of course,” Tao said as he retreated to the back of the laboratory.
“I have made extra enhanced crimson, of course, as well as some very specialpotions.”
He seemed almost giddy as he spoke.
“The three of us,” he gestured to the Elves, “have spent all last night and all today making these potions.”
“Tao, are they all ready? Please explain how they work.”
The Elf stepped forward. “We have these small vials on chains to be worn around your necks. If you drink the liquid in the clear vials you will not be able to be seen by either humans or vampires. You will literally disappear from sight. The effect lasts for about two hours, depending on your size.”
“In the blue vial, and we‟re very proud of this, aren‟t we?” Allwain said again practically giddy. “It is a very powerful potion. One vial will treat millions of gallons of water. What does it do you ask?” He could hardly able to contain his excitement now. “A vampire who feeds on an individual whose water has been treated with this potion will die a slow and painful death. The entire population can be made poisonous to vampires through the water they drink, once their bodies absorb the potion!”
“So vampires won‟t know it was because they‟ve fed on humans?” Letta asked.
“If this Clan is as evil as you say and feed daily, it won‟t matter if they do figure it out, it would be too late.”
“This is great! We can protect the human population and get rid of the evil clans at the same time,” I said.
“Is there any way this could be used against us? Could someone taint our crimson?” Gerhardt asked.
“No the blood must come from a living breathing human, not an animal and not blood cooler than a live body. I have made only enough for the five of you. Once I fill each vial, you will wear it next to your skin on these chains. When you decide to use it and remove the vial from your body, you must then use it within fifteen minutes or it self-neutralizes. This prevents it from being stolen. You still look worried. I know Eric‟s story, „someone using blood lust against someone good‟. I made this especially for this trip, don‟t worry, come back right before you leave and I‟ll give you the vials then.”
“Will this stay in the water forever?” Letta asked.
“No just a few months, but whoever drinks in that time is safe for a year or so.”
“What if a vampire drinks the water?”
“It doesn‟t work like that; you must physically drink the blood from a human. Enough questions go, let me prepare; time is short.”
I could tell he was agitated by our lack of
excitement.
“Go ahead, I‟ll be right there,” I said to Letta and Gerhardt as we started to leave.
“Allwain, I‟m sorry, it‟s not that it‟s not a great discovery, but after all that we‟ve been through, we question everything. Several times we‟ve needed to have fresh blood from our Watchers to keep us from going dormant.”
“I have taken every precaution that I can to make sure the potion is only used for this one purpose and what I tell you now must stay between us alone. I have made an antidote, which I will give to you and you alone, it can be given in advance to protect you or later to save you.”
He looked deeply into my eyes. “I‟m still not sure Gerhardt won‟t try to warn his mother, but with all he now knows, we have to let him go with you. The vials are made only for you five girls to wear. They will react to anyone else‟s skin and cause them severe pain. In that way you‟ll know if anyone tries to wear them other than you.”
“I can tell there‟s more, what else do you have for me?”
“If one of you is turned, they won‟t be able to keep wearing the ring I gave each of you. One last thing, the special crimson I have had you drink these last few days not only gives you extra strength, but for every flask you finish off you will be able to go without blood for at least two weeks without human bloodlust, it‟s a precaution I took to keep what happened to Eric from happening to you. Only you know. Contact me with your mind whenever you need and stay together! Trust your judgment and your instincts Katrina, you were chosen for a reason!”
“As I left, I felt the sudden and overwhelming need to „center‟ myself. I closed my eyes, concentrating, while slowly and quietly I drew my sword, and then at full vampire speed, turned and swung the weapon head high, directly behind me. I saw nothing but heard a distinctive thud followed by a second. Blood filled the hallway floor at my feet.
“Allwain!” I called and he rushed out into the hall.
“Run Katrina, warn the others.”
“Damien, Eric we need help. Kate! Swords! Use your gift; find the enemy close to you.”
I ran towards the courtyard leading to the gardens, Damien was running the same way. Kate, Rosa and El were fighting attackers who were utterly invisible. I used all my speed to close in behind them scenting as I ran. Ducking low, I slashed at their legs with my sword and blood appeared on the ground.
“Letta! Rain! Make it rain!” I yelled.
I couldn‟t see her, but after a moment it started to rain and as it did the attackers were gradually revealed.
The girls severed the heads of the three I had mortally wounded. Eric and Letta raced in from the left, and as they got closer I could see Letta pause, close her eyes and the rain stopped immediately.
“I was almost back to my room when Eric got to me and I heard you call for rain. Once the rain started two of these….things appeared and Eric and I made easy work of them.”
“How did you know Kat?” Rosa asked still breathing hard.
“I was outside Allwain‟s and I felt I needed to be centered, once I was, I scented one behind me.”
“Where‟s Gerhardt anyway?”
“Katrina, girls what‟s happened?” Father said as he, Philepe, Gerhardt and several council members came rushing over.
“We were attacked again,” Kate explained.
“I don‟t think that was their objective, I think they were spying on us,” I said. “We have no idea how long they‟ve been here, we couldn‟t see them until it started to rain. The moisture on their skin, clothes and weapons, made them visible and we killed them easily.”
The Watchers, including Gunter, were shocked.
“They look like elite vampire guard of some kind,” Philepe said as he bent down to take a closer look.
“Is everyone all right?” Father asked.
We were just shaken. Thomas was so upset that he wasn‟t able to help El.
She looked at him saying resolutely. “You did help me, you all trained us so we could do just what we did, defend and protect.”
“I should have been with Letta,” Gerhardt said. “Father wanted to go over his plans with me.”
“It‟s all right Gerhardt, she didn‟t need help, I was just there for clean-up,” Eric laughed.
Our guards were instructed to put the bodies in the dungeon for a while in case we needed to examine them later. We headed back over to ask Allwain a few more questions.
“I thought the castle was protected from magic.”
“From evil magic and this wasn‟t evil magic. I‟ll have to adjust my spells.”
“We‟ve got to go, we don‟t know how much these spies found out and if any of them got away,” Eric said.
“Aren‟t you glad we had these dresses altered so that we could get to our weapons?” El said.
“I hoped we wouldn‟t need to use our weapons for a few more days.”
“What happened to Kale anyway Rosa?” Kate asked.
“His watcher said some news arrived from his father and he went back to his quarters about ten minutes before Kat yelled “Swords!”, and we heard them behind us trying to run away.”
“Did you find anything out after you looked at the bodies?”
“Only that they have a wizard working with them as well, and I think I know who it might be. That‟s for me to worry about, you need to pack, meet back here just after midnight,” Allwain said.
“Do you think any of them got away?” Letta said as we walked out.
Tao and Valik were coming down the hall towards us.
“Tao, Valik, I want you to meet Rosa, El, Kate and Eric,” I said as they got closer.
They bowed slightly, “It‟s an honor, and we wish you every blessing,” Tao said.
They both bowed once more and continued on back to the laboratory.
The girls and I exchanged looks; we‟d have to talk about them another time.
“In answer to your question, I don‟t know if any of them got away, we can‟t even look for them to find out,” I said.
“What do you mean?” asked Gerhardt.
“I mean, their scent is not unique and we don‟t know what they look like.”
When we got to the center of the courtyard I could see the brothers gathered there and from their voices, gestures and faces it was apparent that they were very angry.
“Now what?” asked Kate, “What‟s wrong with the five of you?”
“We‟re so frustrated. It‟s as if we can‟t protect you anymore!” Gunter said.
“Your job has never been to protect us from other vampires; it‟s to protect us from humans,” I said firmly.
“Once we take care of Luena we‟ll have some peace again, I promise you that,” Damien said.
“I‟m tired. Can we talk about this some other time please?”
Everyone agreed and we went our separate ways.
“Katrina, wait a minute,” Quinn said. “You have to tell me what‟s going on.”
“I don‟t know what you mean.” I looked down for a moment and then looked up and directly into his eyes. “Even if something was going onit wouldn‟t necessarily mean I could tell you about it. All I‟d be able to say was I have to do what I have to do.”
I continued looking deep into his beautiful blue eyes and saw they were filled with fear. He was afraid for me. I pulled him close and whispered into his ear, “Trust me.”
He sighed but he didn‟t relax. “I do trust you,” he said as he pulled back. “It‟s just….”
“I know, I know,” I said as I gave him one more quick hug. “I have to go.”
Sarah had snacks and the newly enhanced crimson waiting for us on the table.
“Thank you Sarah, we‟re going to bed early tonight so we won‟t need anything else.”
“All right, I‟ll see you in the morning then, goodnight.”
I went straight to my room and pulled out all of my training and hunting outfits, undergarments and two lightweight dresses and one pair of slippers. I layered the garments on top of a fox fur jacket with the undergarments and slippers and topped it with a small towel. I then placed a leather strap down the middle and tightly rolled everything together, tying the bundle off with two strips of leather. I put the strap over my shoulder to check the weight and fit. I found it could be comfortably worn across my back or side without slipping.
We wouldn‟t be sleeping so I didn‟t need night clothes for that. And we would be passing several cities and we could buy anything else we needed.
As I lay down on my bed to rest for a little while, closing my eyes and slowing my breathing, I concentrated on “seeing” Luena. Did she know anything? Slowly an image started to appear, I recognized the face. It wasn‟t Luena, but Daniela, Damien‟s mother. I couldn‟t tell where she was, but she seemed to be alone.
“Let me see what she sees,” I asked.
When the scene changed from my vision to hers, I was shocked at what I saw. She was looking from the forest, watching our east castle wall. If I would have been on my balcony I was sure I could have picked up her scent. I stayed with the vision for a while. It appeared that she was waiting for something, or someone. The spies, that had to be it! They were reporting to her! How many times they had done that before now?
I jumped off my bed, pulled on my tall boots and strapped on my weapons. I didn‟t know how much she knew and I wasn‟t going to take any chances.
I opened my door, the common room was quiet. The girls were still resting. “Good,” I thought.
I went to the balcony, jumped to the ground and at full speed, ran across the courtyard.
“Allwain!” I called with my mind on the way.
“What is it Katrina?”
“I’ll meet you in the laboratory, its Daniela; she’s outside the castle right now! I’m sure she’s waiting for a report from her invisible spies. I’ve got to eliminate her while I have the chance.”
He was waiting by the door when I arrived seconds later.
“Alone, why... never mind I trust your instinct, what do you need from me?”
“She‟s expecting someone invisible and she‟s going to get it. Can you also give me something to lower my voice for just a little while?”
“No problem at all, now where did I put those herbs? Ah, here they are.”
Allwain quickly mixed the herbs with a liquid that smelled like tea, while speaking some kind of incantation.
“Done, what I‟ve done is mix both magic‟s into one, you will be invisible and sound male, but it will only last about twenty minutes. Are you ready?”
“Yes, I‟m ready.”
He handed me the bowl full of liquid and I drank it all down at once. It did taste like herbal tea, not bad at all.
“Well I can‟t see you any longer, so it‟s obviously working! You‟d better get going.”
I looked down and couldn‟t see my hands! This was incredible!
“Before you go, say something Katrina.”
“What do you want me to say?” I said my voice sounding more like my father.
“No time to marvel at my good work. Go, Katrina go!”
I ran up onto the east wall and jumped down to the ground. I instinctively crouched down, and then remembered no one could see me. I listened to make sure the sound hadn‟t aroused the guard and took a deep breath in. There she was, she hadn‟t moved. With all my vampire speed, I was in front of her in an instant.
“I have news my lady.”
“What took you so long? I‟ve been waiting hours!”
“We were detected, I‟m the only survivor.”
“So that‟s what all the commotion was. You been there for several days, tell me what you know. When are they to make this trip to America? I must get back as soon as I can to make the necessary plans.”
“You mean you haven‟t made a report to anyone yet, my lady?”
“No, I needed more information. I‟ll leave to make my report as soon as you tell me what you know. We must stop them!”
I silently drew my sword.
“They know…..”
“They know what?” she said angrily.
“That youwon‟t make it back to Paris!” I said as I slashed her throat.
She dropped to the ground the shocked look still on her face. After I finished the decapitation, I raced back to the castle and waited at the bottom of the wall to make sure the guards passed by above me. I easily leapt to the top of the wall and got to Allwain‟s door with five minutes to spare.
I‟m back,” I said my voice already starting to change back. My heart was racing. I had just killed Damien‟s mother!
 CHAPTER SEVEN
No need to ask you if you were successful. I know that you were. I‟ll make sure someone takes care of her body.”
“Yes I was successful, now I have to live with that fact.”
“You did what you had to do, Damien will understand that. I can see you again, I know all of you were supposed to meet back here, but you‟re here now so I‟ll give you the amulets filled with the water treatment now. Here, put yours on. Here‟s the antidote as well, one drop into someone‟s mouth will save them or protect them. Remember, you‟re the only one that knows about it and it will be up to you to decide who else you tell.”
“I understand,” I said as put the amulet around my neck.
“Here are the invisibility powders. I concentrated the dose into small blue tablets that will dissolve under your tongue, instead of the liquid. One dose for two hours of cover, and my potion won‟t wash off,” he said proudly.
“Thank you Allwain, I‟ll see you as soon as we can get back. While we‟re gone, I‟d like you to approach Kale, the Crown Prince; we feel he is to join us. Now I‟ve got to go.”
When I got back to our apartment the girls were all in the common room.
“Where have you been?” Kate said as she rose from her chair.
“I picked up our amulets from Allwain. He also gave us tablets to make us invisible. They dissolve under your tongue, that‟s what‟s in the clear vial.”
I handed them the necklaces holding the amulets and they each put them around their necks, the bottles glowed for a few seconds once they were next to the skin, I hadn‟t noticed that about mine, just that it felt warm.
El opened her vest and pinned inside was a small leather pouch, “It‟s the pouch that the brothers gave us with our bracelets. I wanted to take it with me.”
“That‟s a great idea El.” We all decided to do the same thing and went to our rooms to retrieve our pouches and pin them inside our vests. Before I did I poured the silver bracelet onto my palm and touched each of the five charms, five charms for five beauties, „may they make you think of us where ever you are and remember that we love you‟, that‟s what Gunter had said when the brothers gave them to us on our eighteenth birthday.
I wrapped the bracelet in a soft cloth and put it back into the pouch. Then I added the antidote and the rest of the tablets Allwain had given me and pulled the leather drawstring closed before pinning it onto the inside lower left of my vest.
“Damien,” I called with my mind.
“I’m here.”
“I already stopped at Allwain’s so we don’t have to meet there.”
“He sent the enhanced crimson to me earlier,” Damien said. “So we’ll come to you.”
“Don’t alert the Watchers, the brothers are already suspicious.”
“All right, see you soon.”
“Is everyone ready? Damien, Eric and Gerhardt are coming over here in a few minutes.”
“I told Thomas I was too tired for him to be able to stay tonight, he wasn‟t happy,” El said.
“Max is in the hallway, we‟ll have to go out through the balcony and watch for the guard back there.”
“Damien.”
“Yes Katrina?”
“Meet us underneath our balcony.”
“All right, we’re almost there now.”
We all went out to the balcony, held hands and together jumped down to the ground below, where we crouched for a moment to listen. I scented and at once knew there were no guards or Watchers nearby.
As we rose, Damien, Eric and Gerhardt appeared next to us.
“Everyone ready?” Damien asked.
“Before we go any further, I want to ask each of you something and I want you to think hard about it before you give me your answer. As we go into this unknown and the next, have each of you joined together of your own free will and are you willing to do whatever needs to be done as protectors? This includes taking on evil that may come from our own houses?”
I took Kate‟s hand in mine. “What is your answer?”
“I have and I will.”
“El, how about you?”
“I joined freely; I will do what I must.”
“Letta?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Rosa?”
“I have no doubts, I am.”
“Damien, what say you?”
He squeezed my hands tightly.
“You know I am.”
“Eric, even with all you‟ve already been through, can you put everyone‟s needs ahead of your revenge?”
He looked deeply into my eyes. “I join you freely because I know it‟s right. I pledge to you all now, that I would never willingly put you in danger.”
“I trust you,” I told him with my mind.
“Thank you,” he said out loud.
“Gerhardt, this will not be an easy journey for you to make. No one will blame you if you decide to stay here. Don‟t come with us if you can‟t face and defeat the evil we seek.”
His hands were shaking so I gripped them tighter. I had to know right then and there if he could do this.
“What‟s in your heart, Gerhardt?”
“I‟ve never been so sure of anything in my life. I join you freely, and though it may be difficult, I will do whatever it takes to insure the peace and safety of our races.”
Before I let go of his hands, I asked myself what I felt. My answer was that I felt peace and in that moment I knew he meant what he said. I opened my eyes and looked at each of them.
“Let‟s go,” I said as I raced up and over the outside wall and into the forest beyond, purposely avoiding the area where I had slain Daniela. I knew Allwain would have her body burned and someday I would have to tell Damien, but it would have to wait.
Damien had studied the route for days, so he now took the lead. As we started out, we knew we wouldn‟t be stopping until we got to Russia.
The moon hadn‟t risen yet, so it was very dark for human sight, but for us it was like the moon was full.
As the countryside blurred by (vampire speed was such a great thing to possess) we set out to cross two continents in five days.
I scented often and found no danger and no one following. The speed was exhilarating! I never felt so free, so strong. The enhanced crimson was really amazing! I felt as if I could run like this forever.
By mid day we were approaching Moscow.
“We‟re making even better time than I planned,” Damien said as we slowed.
“Let‟s take a stroll through the city and have a nice lunch,” Rosa said.
“That sounds good; I‟ll find a shop and get us some local food and wine,” Eric said.
“I‟ll go with you. I wouldn‟t want you to get lost.”, Kate said as she followed him.
We watched them stroll down the street hand in hand.
“Aren‟t these buildings with those onion tops and brilliant colors magnificent?” El marveled.
“There is a clan here, but we don‟t really want to raise any questions about what we‟re doing here unannounced,” Letta said.
“Katrina, do you scent any vampires?” Damien asked as we walked towards a central park.
I scanned the area, closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I found Kate and Eric of course. “Any evil I sensed was human in nature and other than us, no vampires were close by.”
Just then Kate and Eric came back carrying bottles of wine, packages of bread, local cheese, meats and fruit.
The park had beautiful fountains and gardens so we sat together on the ground, ate, drank some wine and laughed. For that moment in time we could convince ourselves we were simply on holiday, enjoying the sights and sounds of the city.
“So what did you all think about Tao and Valik?” said Rosa said as she took a big bite of an apple.
“I for one would like to get to know them better. Did you ever see anyone move the way they do?” said Letta. “It‟s so graceful.”
“I felt they were fascinated by us as well, maybe when we get back we‟ll take some time to get acquainted,” El said as she passed the wine to Gerhardt.
“This has been great, but it‟s time to go. Here, drink some crimson. The rest of Russia is not going to be easy. Even though it‟s summer and the weather is not the problem, the terrain is going to be harsh.”
Damien handed out the flasks of the enhanced life sustaining liquid and we all drank liberally.
We walked to the edge of the great city knowing it would be awhile before we were able to enjoy ourselves like this again. On reaching the outskirts of the city, we raced at full speed into the unknown. Once again the scenery blurred by and we felt the temperature dropping. By midnight we were halfway through the west Siberian plain, near the village of Surgut.
Damien slowed, signaling to the rest of us that we were to take a break.
“How about a little fire?” Letta said while staring at the ground, and instantly a small flame appeared. The heat coming from it was that of a much larger fire.
Gerhardt and Eric looked stunned. We had forgotten that they didn‟t know about some of our gifts or how we could enhance them. Up until now, we planned to keep that to ourselves. It was too late for that now, but I trusted them.
“That‟s both amazing and welcome Letta,” Gerhardt said as he warmed his hands.
We found that in this area, just under the soil, the ground was permafrost. Locating a pocket of frozen water, Letta just melted it so we had warm water to wash up with.
El, always the practical one, of course had thought of bringing a cloth for washing and drying.
Once we had washed up and felt refreshed, we ate from the provisions we brought and drank more crimson.
“Are you sure you don‟t need to sleep a little bit?” Damien asked us.
“I don‟t, I just needed to eat something,” I said as we finished up.
“That new crimson is amazing isn‟t it?” Kate said.
“I‟m glad we have Allwain helping us,” El said as she started putting everything back together.
“Making us build up our strength for a few days really helped too,” Eric added.
“When Gunter taught us how to pack for a long journey in a small, easily carried sling, I thought it was a waste of time,” Rosa said. “But here we are, everything efficiently packed, just like he said.
“They did train us well, as did our tutors. The whole time I spent learning all these languages, I felt it was a total waste of time,” Letta said. “And look how knowing them has helped us.”
“Just going to council proved that was time well spent.” There was general laughter in the group.
“Well if everyone is ready, we‟ll start again. We need to head south and east, skirting the mountains along the coast. We‟ll follow that path until we get to the closest point between Siberia and America.” Damien explained as we all put our slings over our
shoulders.
I should have needed to put on my coat, but energy pulsed through my veins and I wasn‟t the least bit cold. Everyone looked like they felt the same way, so off we ran, Damien leading the way. I scented once again. Clear, clean, cold mountain air was all I could smell and soon salt and sea would be added to the mix.
By morning we were at the coast and stopped to eat. We decided to hunt. The abundance of large seals provided just the thing we needed to conserve the crimson and as vampires, our need to hunt had to be addressed. We may not feel the need to drink, but we still wanted the hunt, no crimson would ever change that.
Hunting as a team made it so easy. We chased them down, subduing them with little effort and drinking our fill. Other predators and scavengers would finish off what we didn‟t want, nothing would be wasted.
By evening we were at the strait. The wind was howling, the seas had twenty foot swells and the sky was the same color as the water - gray.
Letta grabbed my hand. I knew instantly what she planned and that she would need all seven of us to help her calm the sea.
“Join hands everyone, concentrate as one, and think of calm, smooth waters,” Letta called as we complied, clasping our hands and completing the circle while she just stared out into the strait.
As before, I could feel energy flowing between us, and the longer we stayed in the circle the faster the energy flowed.
After what I only could estimate as thirty minutes, I felt a truly inner peace. As I opened my eyes I noticed an aura of soft white light surrounded us. Then I realized that the light was moving, just as I felt the energy running through us, I noticed that it was also pulsating around us, engulfing us within it.
The wind had all but died away. The once gray sky was now brilliant blue with puffy white clouds back lit by the early morning sun. In the distance we could see our destination.
“You did it Letta! You did it!” El cheered jumping up and down.
“Wedid it, all of us.”
Damien, Eric and Gerhardt were dumbfounded, hardly able to speak.
“I…thought your gift was fire,” Gerhardt stuttered.
“Fire is an element; I can work with all of them. It took the combination of all our energy to enhance my gift,” replied Letta.
“I‟ve seen you do some amazing things before Letta, but this tops them all,” Damien said as he shook his head.
“We need to go to the fishing village and
commandeer a vessel,” Eric said as we looked out to the now calm sea.
“Won‟t we scare the villagers half to death? I don‟t think they get many visitors,” Kate asked as we started to walk the short way up the shore.
Gulls were squawking as they flew by, dropping down to the water and the shore to feed.
Eric pointed out to sea, explaining to us about the whales we could see off shore and how they forced water out of the blow holes on their backs. They were so beautiful and powerful. We watched in awe as they threw themselves out of the water and crashed down on the now fairly calm sea.
“I‟ll speak with the fisherman, the rest of you wait here,” Damien said.
We sat on the rocks and fed the gulls some bread and gazed across the sea to America while we waited for Damien to return.
“How is everyone feeling? Letta are you weak at all from using your gift?”
“You know, normally I would be exhausted, but today I feel fine. I‟m sure it‟s the combination of the new crimson and the fact that you all helped me. Three more than usual made my gift so much more powerful.”
“I‟ve never felt energy flowing through me before, is that what you normally feel?” Eric asked.
“Yes we always feel that, but the energy
surrounding us this time; that was new,” I said.
“I paid a fisherman to take us across and not ask questions,” Damien said as he approached, “it wasn‟t much money, but it‟s more than he makes in a year from fishing.”
“Was he shocked by the change in the weather?” Letta asked while beaming with pride.
“He did say he didn‟t expect to be able to fish for several days because of the storm. We‟d better go.”
The boat was surprisingly large and well made. Remembering the waves I could see why.
Damien, Eric and Gerhardt helped the fisherman launch the boat and unfurl the sails. While the men worked, we were content to sit on the piles of nets on the deck and watch the whales, seals and what Eric called dolphins, a much smaller version of whales.
“When we crossed the channel from England, it was so frightening, windy, rough seas like we saw earlier. This is so beautiful,” El said as she leaned over the side of the boat and let the water splash over her hand. “I‟m not frightened at all.”
“We‟re not going to get very far with no wind,” I said to Letta.
She looked up, appeared to concentrate and shortly a nice breeze freshened at our backs, filling the sails and moving us forward at a nice pace.
The fisherman was muttering to himself. Only Damien, El and Eric spoke Russian so they told the rest of us that he was saying how he‟d “never seen the conditions change so quickly before in all his years of fishing on these waters”. We chuckled to ourselves and enjoyed the ride.
In a few hours we docked in America, how amazing! We thanked the fisherman and helped send him on his way so he could spend the rest of the day filling his empty nets.
The village on this side of the strait was larger, made up of hunters and fisherman whose families had survived there for centuries. We purposely had come ashore just south of the village and not wanting to call any more attention to ourselves than necessary, we made a hasty retreat from the area.
Getting through the next part of our journey was not going to be easy. As soon as we felt safe, we stopped to eat and to drink some much needed crimson.
Later we hoped to be able to hunt. I scented huge numbers of large deer like animals, mountain goats, bear, fox, wolves and other animals I‟d never scented before.
“All this sea air has made me so hungry,” Rosa said as we sat down on fallen tree to eat.
“There is plenty of game here; we can hunt anytime we want,” I said as I drank from my flask.
El passed around the meat, bread and cheese. “We‟re almost out of everything except crimson,” she said.
“We‟ll hunt more now, and soon there will be a town where we can replenish our stores,” Damien said as he looked at the map he carried.
“Right now we need the strength and stamina the enhanced crimson gives us. We can hunt later this afternoon.”
“It‟s so exhilarating isn‟t it? Gerhardt said looking around in wonder. “This is a wild and beautiful land.”
It truly was, we all agreed as we scanned the magnificent landscape surrounding us finding mountains, thick forests, towering ice flows and waterfalls, not to mention the wildlife. It was truly magnificent. As we watched, eagles soared overhead, screeching as they looked for prey.
We finished eating and Damien called us over to look at the map.
“We need to follow the Yukon River east until it splits right here,” he said as he pointed to the spot on the map. “That‟s where we‟ll start to turn south.”
“Sounds good Damien, all right is everyone ready?” I said. “Let‟s go.”
We raced along through the thick forest and flower filled meadows to the river‟s edge.
As we did, we passed by large beasts, with racks of horns similar to reindeer, and another with antlers that looked like enormous hands, with long faces only their mothers could love.
Huge brown bears, foxes and otters fished in the rivers. We also saw several packs of wolves, it was the most diverse and beautiful land I had ever seen.
We avoided the small towns and stopped to rest along a smaller tributary that was leading us south.
Although it was late evening, it was still as light as midday.
“Let‟s hunt, I‟m starving,” said Gerhardt as we took off our slings.
He was like the wolves we had seen, pacing and anxious to attack.
“Let‟s work as a pack like we did back home,” Kate said.
“That sounds good. I can‟t wait, we‟ve been passing game all day long,” Rosa said with a pout.
“So how does this pack thing work?” inquired Gerhardt.
We start with a normal wedge formation, close it into a circle surrounding the prey, feed and meet in the middle when we‟re done,” I said proudly.
“Brilliant,” Eric said clapping his hands together. “You take the lead Katrina.”
I took in a breath in just to pick out a smaller group of animals. Once I had the scent I raced off. The girls knew this drill well, as did Damien, who joined me in the middle. The girls took their normal places and Eric and Gerhardt filled in beside Rosa and Kate.
Once we spotted the small group of deer, the wedge formed so we could single out eight. We did that easily, and then closed the wedge into a circle, took our prey and fed greedily until totally satisfied. After we finished, we opened their bellies so predators would find them quickly and finish off the carcasses we left behind.
“Well here we are in the middle! That was great.” Gerhardt said excitedly.
Damien put his arm around my shoulders.
“I have a nice surprise for everyone. While studying the maps I found a hot spring not far from here.”
“We can take a bath?” Rosa said gleefully.
I kissed Damien‟s cheek and gave him a hug.
“We can wash these clothes too, they reek,” El said holding her nose.
“Lead the way Damien,” I invited happily.
Steam rose from several pools. The girls and I decided on the pool with the most privacy and the boys took one further up stream.
We dropped our slings at the pool‟s edge and proceeded to strip. Then making sure that the vials around our neck were tightly sealed, we walked into the wonderfully warm water. It was actually large enough for at least twenty, so we swam around in the bubbling hot mineral bath, splashing each other and enjoying every minute.
“This is even better than our tubs back home,” Rosa said as we rested.
“Except that Sarah‟s not here,” I said feeling sad and a little guilty about that.
“Just think about what she‟d say about our hair,” El laughed.
El had even packed soaps and oils, so we took our time soaking and washing our hair.
Once we finished, we opened our slings and put on a fresh outfit, unpinned the pouches from our vests and started to wash out our smelly clothes.
“I‟m surprised the grass didn‟t die underneath these,” laughed Rosa as she gathered up her clothes to wash.
After we squeezed as much of the water out as we could, Letta made a nice breeze to dry them as they hung from the bushes lining the stream nearby.
“That was fantastic, I‟m clean and full and surrounded by this beautiful land and people that I love,” Kate said as she rested on her back on the grass next to the pool.
“I can‟t wait to see the rest of this country and decide where we want to establish our coven,” I said with a sigh.
“I thought the cities would be an exciting place to be, but after seeing this, I can‟t imagine being surrounded by buildings and people,” Letta said breathing in the fresh mountain air.
“You‟re right Letta. I‟ve spent my whole life in cities, now I would rather just visit them occasionally,” Rosa said closing her eyes and tilting her head back to take advantage of the sun‟s warmth.
“We never did get a chance to ask you about the Prince, you two seemed very cozy before we left,” Kate said with a wry smile.
“He‟s wonderful,” she sighed. “I hope we can see each other again soon.
“Judging from the way we all felt when we met him, I‟m sure you will Rosa,” I said thinking back.
“We better get packed back up; I imagine the boys are ready to leave,” El said as she started to get up.
We braided each other‟s hair back once again, rolled up our slings and strapped on our weapons. Just as we finished Damien called with his mind to make sure we were dressed.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes it’s all right, we’re ready.”
“Darn it, you‟re dressed,” Gerhardt said as he came into sight.
We all laughed as we started back on our journey. The daylight continued all night and we felt so refreshed we didn‟t stop until we got close to Prince Rupert, which seemed appropriate somehow.
“This is amazing, it looks just like the Fjords I remember growing up,” Eric said while gazing out onto the sea.
“Look at us. We„re glowing!” Kate said as she gave us each a glance. “We have never looked or felt more alive have we?”
“She was right; we should have been tired, scared and unsure. Instead it was just the opposite, we felt full of energy, confident and ready.
“Allwain said we were meant for this and it seems the tougher our task becomes the more we thrive,” El said in wonder.
“The spoiled royal brats have purpose,” Rosa mused.
“Why don‟t a few of us go into town and get some replacement supplies,” Letta said.
“I‟ll go,” Damien said. “Gerhardt would you like to go with me?”
“I would, thank you Damien.”
“We‟ll be back as soon as we can, and then we can eat and get going again.”
They left and we settled down. Letta started a small but nicely warming fire.
“I‟m going to take a moment to talk to Allwain; do you all want to listen in?”
They all did, especially Eric who was very excited that it was even possible.
We joined hands as we sat around the fire.
“Allwain, are you there?”
“Yes Katrina I hear you, how far are you?”
“We’ll be close to Vancouver by midday.”
“That is good news, you’re ahead of schedule. The Council has stayed together, the weather here is just awful,” he said gleefully. We all looked at each other knowingly nodding and smiling.
“I just wanted to make sure everything was all right back home, and let you know we we’re doing well.”
“Everything is fine and as you asked, I approached Prince Kale, he had of course taken the potion given to everyone else. I felt he would be a wonderful addition. But as with all of you, he must choose freely, he has much to give up in order to join you.”
“No more than Eric.”
“True, and there will be time, not all of you will go on every journey. Your parents will be glad I have heard from you and that you are all well, even if that’s all I can tell them.”
“Thank you Allwain, I’ll contact you again soon.”
I opened my eyes again and broke the connection.
“Our cover is complete, they shouldn‟t suspect anything, and no one is going anywhere.”
“Could you always do this?” Eric said with disbelief on his face and in his voice.
“No not until after the protection ceremony,” El said. “Since then, our gifts and how we enhance them have at least tripled.
Eric looked down into the fire remembering what they told him he‟d done; it was still painful.
“It‟s all right Eric, we don‟t blame you, Luena has done things to all of us, and it wasn‟t your fault,” Kate said as she rubbed his back.
“It‟s her gift and the black magic she studied has made her even more dangerous. That‟s why we‟ve undertaken this journey, to make sure she doesn‟t spread her evil to America.”
“Mine has been a long painful journey, but I really feel that this”, he gestured to the group, “is where my destiny lies, now and for as long as you need me.”
“One of us wants that more than the rest of us, right Kate?” Rosa said.
She blushed and put her head on Eric‟s shoulder and we all laughed. He put his arm around her and kissed her cheek.
“I bet our Watchers are beside themselves right now. They were already upset before we left,” Letta said. “Especially Thomas, I know you miss him El.”
“I do, but he knows we have things to do we can‟t tell them about. He‟ll just have to get over it.”
“Quinn knew something was up too. They‟ve spent their entire lives training to protect us, it‟s hard for them when they can‟t, and even Ivan must be crazed,” I said thinking back on how upset he was when Damien got hurt.
“Here come Damien and Gerhardt,” Letta said as she started to stand and stretch.
“Is anyone hungry? There was a great little shop just opening, that had everything we needed.” Gerhardt said smiling and holding up his packages proudly.
Three kinds of cheese and three kinds of cured meats and fish, dried fruit and freshly baked bread with freshly churned butter.
It was heavenly. We ate, drank some crimson and packed the rest away.
“We‟ll get close to Vancouver today,” Damien said as we readied ourselves to continue our journey. “We know there‟s a peaceful clan there but we still need to avoid them. We can‟t alert any of the vampires to our presence in the Americas. Not yet.”
“Can we stop just before we get there? If everyone helps me, I‟ll be able to scent them from a greater distance.”
“I haven‟t sensed evil since we‟ve been here. Has anyone else?” Kate asked, but no one had.
“It won‟t be long before we do, so let‟s enjoy the peacefulness while we can,” El said.
We raced off leaving the coastline behind so we could get around another mountain range. The valley was covered by thick forest where we found and used animal trails, so we weren‟t slowed too much.
We came out of the lush forest at a crossroads. The weathered wooden sign said „Vancouver‟ and pointed west.
We took this opportunity to join together so I could scent and Kate could see where the vampires in this area were located.
“Join hands and concentrate on vampire scent.”
As we joined together I closed my eyes and used our combined energy to find this vampire clan.
“Show me,” I asked as we concentrated further.
They weren‟t close, but the energy coming from them was so positive I was compelled to call out.
“Nathaniel can you hear me?”
Now I could see him, he spun around trying to see where the voice had come from. When he saw that no one was in the room with him he spoke.
“I hear you, and it frightened me.”
What an amazing thing for a male vampire to admit, I thought.

“It’s all right; I am your ally and your friend. Be ready, soon peaceful forces will call on you for your allegiance.”
“Good, we can go around Vancouver safely. Damien show us the way.”
 CHAPTER EIGHT
It was full speed ahead until evening, which took us near the city of San Francisco, where we knew another clan existed, an evil one.
“Do you want to stop here or go around?” Damien said with his mind.
“Let’s stop; we need to make a group decision,” I replied.
We were still around a hundred miles away. We had entered a forest, but not just any forest. The trees were taller than some mountains and wider than most houses. I felt small and insignificant.
“It‟s enchanted,” Kate said as we all looked up and around in wonder.
“It‟s amazingly beautiful,” El said in awe of its magnificence.
“No, I mean it‟s literally enchanted. These ancient trees protect ancient races, wood nymphs and fairies at the very least.”
“I wish we had time to seek them out, but we don‟t.”
“She tells you something that amazing and that‟s all you have to say?” Gerhardt said shocked by my indifference.
“They are better off if they stay hidden. No race will be safe if we fail to complete our task here,” I said with authority.
“She‟s right. We can‟t afford to get side tracked, not when we‟re this close,” Damien said.
“I‟m sorry; it‟s just such a shock to me that things I thought were only in bed time stories, really exist.”
“You mean like vampires and elves Gerhardt?” Rosa said sarcastically.
“All right, what are we going to do next?” Eric asked.
“We were originally going to pass by this clan, but since Allwain gave us the water treatment I think we should use it to protect the humans they are now terrorizing, before we take care of the brothers in New Orleans,” I said as I tried to gauge everyone else‟s feelings.
“Allwain said it would cause a slow death to any vampire drinking blood from a living human victim that had consumed the treated water,” El said. “We‟ll be long gone before that happens.”
“Does that mean you want to do this now?” I asked and everyone nodded yes.
“We will need to find their water source,” Eric said.
“Join hands, and let‟s take a look around.”
I slowed my breathing as we joined hands and Kate and I looked for the water source we needed. We found several large wells that all tapped into the same underground spring. I broke the circle then.
“We‟ll only need one vial to treat the whole city.”
“I‟ll go,” volunteered Kate.
“No one goes anywhere alone! I‟ll go with you,” said Eric forcefully.
“We‟ll go as close as we dare, before we look for vampires,” I said.
We raced through the forest and out to the coastline closest to the city and stopped.
“I can scent a lot of vampires, Kate can you “see” them?”
“Some are down by the docks terrorizing a group of people.”
“I don‟t scent any close to the nearest well; just go as fast as you can.”
“Follow me Eric, it won‟t take us long,” Kate said with confidence.
“I‟d follow you anywhere, you know that,” he said smiling at her.
“Oh please,” Rosa said. “Just get in, empty the vial and get back here.”
They raced off, and the rest of us held hands so we could watch and speak to them if we needed to. It took only seconds for them to get to the well. Eric watched Kate from the shadow of the buildings surrounding the square. In the late night hour everything was quiet, no lights shown from any of the windows, only the gas street lamps flickered, spreading their amber light up and down the buildings and the street.
Kate pulled the necklace with the vial out from under her shirt, pulled the stopper free and poured the liquid into the well. Replacing it quickly, she turned and ran towards Eric. Instinctively I took a breath in and found an evil presence was close by.
“Kate, Eric be careful someone very evil is close.”
“We felt our rings get warm, it’s a male vampire and he can’t be far from us,” Kate replied with her mind.
We watched as they crouched down in the shadow and slowly backed as close to the building as they could.
Suddenly a blood curdling scream echoed down the street followed by the sound of children crying. Our eyes were drawn to a third story balcony, on which a man appeared, a small screaming child thrashing under each arm. Without hesitating he jumped landing gracefully. Seeming unfazed by the frantic children in his grasp, he turned and started to walk away. He passed the very corner of the building where Kate and Eric waited.
He was dressed in a long black coat. The still struggling children were in their night clothes and crying out for their mother.
When he got within twenty feet of Kate and Eric, we could see the expression on his face change from a morbid grin to one of surprise.
“He smells them,” I said anxiously.
Just as he started to turn and look in their direction Kate was on him. She pulled his head back by his hair and stabbed him in the back with her dagger. At the exact same time Eric grabbed the two children, ran, and jumped back onto the balcony of the same window we‟d seen them come through just minutes before.
“More of them are coming, get out of there now!” I yelled with my mind.
Eric didn‟t come back out of the window, but raced towards Kate from behind the building. Together they carried the now mostly dead vampire out away from the city. There they beheaded him and dumped his body in the ocean not far from us.
“You weren‟t followed, let‟s get out of here!” I said as we started to run east.
We were well into the desert before we stopped. At this rate we would get to New Orleans this very afternoon.
“That got a little scary, good job you two,” Rosa said as we walked together trying to find a nice place to rest.
“We knew we had no choice, and even if he hadn‟t noticed us, I wasn‟t about to let him take those children,” Kate said angrily as Eric shook his head in agreement.
“When I return them to their room, I was surprised that the vampire hadn‟t killed their mother. It looked like he had just shoved her hard against the wall, she was out cold. The children clung to her after I set them down next to her and told them they would be all right now.”
“Thanks to you two,” El said.
“And thanks to Allwain, eventually the whole city will be safe,” Letta said as we found a nice spot to sit on a rocky outcropping.
“Let‟s eat, I‟m starving,” Kate said.
We ate the rest of the goods that Damien and Gerhardt had purchased and drank some much needed crimson.
“We can hunt just before we get to New Orleans,” Damien said as we finished up.
“This part of America is as amazing as any part we‟ve seen so far,” Gerhardt said as he looked around.
“And it‟s completely different isn‟t it. These towering red rock formations are beautiful,” I said.
“It‟s another magical place, you can really feel it,” El said as we stood.
It was so true, we all felt it.
“I think we should meditate here, before we continue on. This place seems so suited for it. What is it called on the map Damien?”
“We‟re just outside a town called Santa Fe.”
“There‟s a spot over there under that rock archway that‟s calling to me,” I said as I pointed it out to everyone.
As we walked through a rock corridor leading to an opening beyond, we could see the walls were covered with ancient scenes, hand prints, figures and animals. Once out into the open again, we climbed a low plateau to get to the archway and picked a spot directly under it to start our meditation.
The power in this place was palpable. You could almost hear the ancient chants of all those that had come before us. We were all in awe of this ancient cathedral.
We sat in a circle in total silence. This place was sacred and demanded humbleness and reverence. It was a privilege and an honor to be here.
We joined hands and silently asked for peace and enlightenment. The energy flowing between us this time was so powerful it was almost painful. After a few minutes a voice told me to open my eyes.
Within our circle stood a man; his long black hair adorned with eagle feathers. He was wearing a tan leather tunic, matching pants and shoes with beautiful multicolored beading along the edges.
“I have been waiting for you and it is with great joy that I welcome you. Your task is great and you will need the help of many to fulfill your destiny. I gladly give you the ancient powers of this land and know you will use them wisely. Accept the blessings of my people and all those that wish for peace. The Five, the protectors of the races are joined, the prophecy is fulfilled,” he said smiling, his arms opened wide, and then he was gone.
Lights and energy raced around us and I could feel the power of the land filling every cell in my body. I felt invincible. I could face whatever came now with confidence. I knew in that moment that I would do whatever I had to do to protect the innocent of all the races from whatever evil tried to harm them.
Tears of pride filled my eyes, we had been chosen. I didn‟t know why and I didn‟t need to. I just knew we were ready for this challenge and any other laid at our feet. I wouldn‟t be afraid, I wouldn‟t hesitate, and we would always have this place to come to, for knowledge, rejuvenation and for peaceful reflection.
When the vision receded we looked at each other. We were struck again and again by what we encountered on this amazing journey we had been chosen to make.
“If we ever had any doubts about what we are about to do, it ended right here,” I said.
“I love this place,” Kate said. “Promise me we‟ll come back.”
We all agreed. This was a place we would never forget. As we silently hiked out, we could only imagine the ancient peoples that had walked this same path. I was proud to be added to its story.
“I don‟t know what to say. When I joined you I didn‟t realize what it meant,” Gerhardt said as we were about to start traveling again. “Thank you all for thinking that I‟m worthy.”
“Never in all my days would the word humble come to mind as a word to describe you Gerhardt,” Rosa laughed. “Will wonders never cease?”
We all had to laugh at that, even Gerhardt.
“I feel so good I think I could fly,” Letta said raising her arms and twirling around.
“You girls never looked lovelier and that‟s saying a lot. There‟s a light that seems to be coming from inside each of you, it‟s amazing,” Damien marveled.
We walked through the desert for a while just trying to take in all that we‟d seen, but soon it was time to get back to the business at hand.
“We have some more decisions to make. The brothers, I want to eliminate them, no complicated plot, we just search them out and destroy them,” I said forcefully. “Of course, we‟ll treat the water to take care of the others and protect the human population.”
“I agree and I think Eric deserves a chance to exact his revenge,” Kate added.
“Only if it doesn‟t jeopardize our greater task; to eradicate the evil clans from America,” Damien said.
“So what‟s the plan Katrina?” Eric said looking directly into my eyes as if to tell me he had every confidence in my judgment.
“We‟ve seen that they hunt together most evenings; that they‟re arrogant and not expecting to be challenged.”
“We also know where they will be - the Opera House,” El said.
“Hopefully treating the water system will be as easy as it was in San Francisco and we can do it quickly. As soon as it‟s dark we could use Allwain‟s tablets to make Eric and Damien invisible. They can wait outside the Opera House, follow them and take them out,” I said trying to think of any reason my plan wouldn‟t work.
“Tell me more about these tablets; is it the same thing that was used to hide the vampire spies back home?”
“I don‟t think so; Allwain‟s formula is based on totally different properties. The effects of our tablets will last a couple of hours and will also cloak anything that‟s on your person, such as your weapons and clothes. The invisibility is not affected by moisture and won‟t wash off.”
What I wasn‟t telling them was that I had already tested the tablets when I had confronted Daniela and had firsthand knowledge of their usefulness.
“Some of us can treat the water, and some will watch, staying in the back ground and make sure the rest of the vampires don‟t cause us any trouble, agreed?”
We all agreed. Damien now pulled out the map, using his finger he pointed out our current location and traced our path to where we were headed.
“We should be able to hunt on the open plains,” he said as he gestured to the part of the map showing the large expanse of desert leading to the grass land prairies, “Or we can wait until we get closer if you prefer.”
I shrugged, “It doesn‟t matter to me, I feel so good right now. You decide and whenever you see someplace good we‟ll hunt,” I said.
The decisions being made, we headed out. As we raced across the desert and into another completely different landscape, I knew that I loved the wide open plains and every single new area of these America‟s. I couldn‟t wait for this to become my home.
We hunted deer on the plains and finally stopped when we reached the Mississippi river.
“We can follow the river south now and cross at a point closer to our destination. The map shows a place that has a ferry not far from here,” Damien said while he rolled up the map again.
We easily located the ferry crossing. Rather than a boat, we found a long, flat barge capable of carrying wagons, cattle and sheep, as well as men and horses.
As we crossed I said with my mind,“Damien, I miss Nulla and Theo.”
“We’ll be back before you know it.”
“I’d like to raise a lot of little Nulla’s and Theo’s in this country Damien.”
We looked at each other; he had a big smile on his face.
“I’d like that too,” he replied squeezing my hand.

“Damien, what will happen if we see Marie? Do you think Gerhardt can come to terms with the fact that we can’t let her survive?”

“I guess we won’t know until the moment presents its self. He’s not in this alone, we’d never expect him to have to kill his own mother, one of us would do that.”

I instantly felt better about Daniela, I knew he‟d understand.
“She’s still his mother,” I said.
“She’s the enemy; don’t ever forget that, it’s the only way I can think about Luena and Daniela. They ceased to be my sister and mother when they chose to side against all that I believe in.”
“I love you and I’m so proud of the way you’ve handled everything that’s happened.”
“None of us asked for any of this, but now I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
As we approached the outskirts of New Orleans, I could sense the evil that engulfed this place. The air was heavy, hot, and humid. It smelled of exotic spices rising from the cooking pots throughout the French Quarter and mixed with the incense burned by local voodoo practitioners. We could hear their chants rising from the dark corners and back alleyways as we passed. Evil blanketed the whole area, oozing out of every crack and crevasse.
As we walked toward the French Opera House, it was like being covered by a black veil. I felt it would be difficult if not impossible to live here and not become a part of its beckoning evil. You would eventually succumb to the corruption that was everywhere against all your better intentions.
“The city uses a system of cisterns;, wells that collect the rain water for its citizens to use,” Damien whispered as we walked.
“It is going to be much more difficult to treat the water supply and protect the population than it was back in San Francisco isn‟t it?” El said.
“We‟re going to have to treat them each
individually,” Gerhardt added as we continued on.
“A few drops in each cistern should be enough,” I said as we stopped to observe the Opera house.
“Are the brothers here Katrina?” Damien asked.
I scented that they were on the second floor of the Opera House along with ten other vampires.
“Yes, they‟re on the second floor,” I said as I pointed to the windows above the street and just as I did someone looked out.
Instantly, Damien crossed in front of me his back to the street, grabbed me roughly to him and kissed me. Then we separated and slowly walked away ducking into a restaurant to wait to see if someone would come looking for us, but no one did.
“What‟s wrong Gerhardt? Are you all right?” Letta asked.
“I know my mother is in there.”
“What do you want to do?” I said knowing how difficult this was for him.
“I should go alone and try to distract her. Otherwise, she‟s bound to pick up my scent and that would put the rest of you in danger.”
“You can‟t just walk in there and say „Hello Mother‟,” Kate said as we took a seat at a back table. We ordered some wine and food so we could stay and discuss our options without looking suspicious.
“Listen, she wanted me to come with her and now here I am.”
“So you‟re just going to tell her you ran here all by yourself to join her?” Rosa said in disbelief.
“I say you do nothing but watch, just like we planned,” I said with authority.
“We need to finish our business and leave. This place is so oppressive that I can hardly stand it,” El said.
“Damien, let‟s take a look at the city maps,” Eric said as he looked around the restaurant to make sure no one was watching us.
We located all the different neighborhoods and found every cistern and well starting with the closest one to the Opera House.
“We‟ll pair up; remember no one goes anywhere alone. Rosa and Letta you take this side and El and I will take this one,” I said pointing everything out on the map. “Kate and Gerhardt, you‟ll stay here and observe while Damien and Eric wait for the brothers to come out to hunt.
“Where do you want to meet when we‟re finished?”
“Here, Jackson Square,” Damien said once again showing us on the map.
“Now, here are invisibility tablets for each of you. You never know when you might need one. They dissolve under your tongue and take effect
immediately,” I said as I handed Eric, Damien and Gerhardt some of the extra tablets from my pouch. “There now, we all have some.”
“It‟s getting dark, we‟d better get going,” Damien said as he put the map away.
When we got outside the lamps were lit. A fog had developed and there were so many people on the streets drinking and laughing it would be easy for us to blend in and disappear into the crowd.
Everyone, it seemed, was armed somehow, which meant that no one gave our weapons a second glance.
The setting of the sun, though a welcome sight, gave no relief from the heat. As we walked I could feel a line of sweat slowly run down the middle of my back.
I pulled Damien close, my arms curling around his waist. “Be careful, I‟ll see you in a little while,” I whispered as he looked down and kissed my forehead.
Letta and Rosa headed the opposite way from us, towards the Garden district. El and I headed toward the river and the Metairie.
“Eric and Damien went back to wait outside the French Opera House for the brothers to appear and Kate and Gerhardt followed close behind. We all had our jobs to do and we were determined to complete them.
Damien
Eric and I walked slowly, avoiding people on the streets and keeping an eye out for vampires. This place was like Paris in many ways. Both cities were places where any vice you had could be satisfied. It was easy to see why the brothers had picked this place for their council. Most of the humans we‟d seen here tonight weren‟t a good representation of their race. It was as if the good people of New Orleans had forsaken the street and barricaded themselves in their homes against the evil surrounding them.

As we waited outside the Opera House we watched from a place where we could see both the back and side exits. I remembered Katrina had seen them leave from the back door when she saw them in her vision. She had told us what they looked like and we were ready to draw our swords and end their reign. Our patience was rewarded when the subjects of our quiet watching appeared. Unfortunately they weren‟t alone. They had two women vampires with them and one I recognized as Marie, Gerhardt‟s mother.
“Damien, now what?” Eric said to me with his mind.
“We’ll follow closely for a few minutes to see if they stay together.”
“Should we dissolve the tablets now, or wait?”
“Let’s wait a few minutes.”
“Kate,”I called with my mind…nothing.
“Eric try to speak to Kate with your mind and see if Gerhardt knows its Marie.”
“I can’t….something is wrong.”
“Katrina!” I called with my mind as we turned to see if we could see Kate or Gerhardt who were suppose to be close by.
“I’m here,” Katrina answered.“What’s wrong?”
“The brothers came out with two vampire women, one is Marie, but now we can’t contact Kate or Gerhardt and they aren’t where we agreed they would be.”
“El and I are just about done, we’ll be right there. Follow the brothers, and take your tablet. We’ll find Kate and Gerhardt and call Letta and Rosa.”
“Good, Katrina and El are all right, take the tablet and we’ll finish our business, the others will find Kate and Gerhardt.” I told Eric.
We dissolved the tablets under our tongues as Katrina had instructed and just as she said, they worked immediately.
The fog was getting thicker and we didn‟t want to lose sight of the evil foursome, so we hurried to get closer to better hear them over the noise of the street.
“Any ideas for dinner, my dear?” said Petroph to Marie.
“I‟m so bored,” she pouted. “Let‟s have a good chase tonight, it‟ll be fun.” Then she leaned close and squeezed his arm.
“Janko, go find us a worthy victim, Claire will go with you, won‟t you Claire?”
This was our chance! I thought. “Go ahead Eric, you take care of them. I‟ll stay with Petroph and Marie,” I said as we watched Janko and Claire laugh and walk down the dark side street to their right.
“We‟ll be right back; don‟t have any more fun until then.” Claire called back over her shoulder.
They continued walking arm in arm into the darkness as did Petroph and Marie.
“I wish you would reconsider and stay even after the Council meetings.”
“That would be lovely Petroph; I‟ve had such a good time here. But I must return to Paris and help rid us of our enemies.”
“The Five! The Protectors!” he whined, “I tire of hearing about them. Let them come, they won‟t last one night here.”
“I still hope to convince my son to join us; I feel he‟s very close to making the right decision.”
“Do you really plan to spare Philepe if he does?”
“Philepe has to die regardless,” she said with indifference, hate filling her voice. “I‟ll just have to make it seem like an accident that‟s all.”
She‟s just like Luena I decided. In seconds Eric was back and I knew he had completed his mission.
“Petroph is all yours Eric; I’ll take care of Marie,” I said to him with my mind.
I quietly drew my sword; we were only a half a block apart so overtaking the evil couple only took seconds. I grabbed Marie by the head covering her mouth and twisting, breaking her neck and instantly killing her. I could see that Eric had thrust his sword into Petroph‟s back lifting him slightly off the ground. I could hear him speaking to Petroph in his native Danish language.
Then Eric released him, Petroph slumped to the ground still alive, desperately trying to see who and where we were.
Eric continued speaking to him in a calm, low voice until the downward slice of his sword separated Petroph‟s head from his shoulders. I finished off Marie and we re-sheathed our swords and turned to run back the way we came.
“What did you say to him? At the end he looked shocked and afraid.”
“In a way I wished we were not invisible and they could have seen my face; not that they would recognize me. I told them both that I was avenging the death of my brother and the loss of my family. I wanted him to know as they died that Prince Eric, son of Magnus lives and that their kind will not survive. Now let‟s find Kate, Damien.”
Katrina
We had only done half of the cisterns when Damien called to me, I couldn‟t contact Kate either. We were back at the corner where we parted, across from the Opera House. El and I stopped and stood in the shadows. I scented and El and I held hands trying to “see” where Kate and Gerhardt might be.

“Who are you? Who sent you?” I heard as the vision started to become clear.
Kate and Gerhardt were surrounded by vampires.
“Someone go and find Petroph,” said the same one who asked the first question. He was a tall, thin, dark haired vampire dressed like the others - all in black.
“No one sent us, my mother is Marie Bistadeau, and she asked me to come. I have complied. This is my girlfriend,” Gerhardt said forcefully.
“Damien,” I called. “A female vampire is coming out the back to look for the brothers, kill her. You need to get rid of those bodies, it wasn’t important before, but Kate and Gerhardt have been found and taken into the Opera house.”
“Letta, Rosa over here,” El whispered motioning for them to join us as they approached.
They joined hands with us.
“Kate can you hear me?” I could see her nod yes. Now I knew that she hadn‟t been able to concentrate hard enough to say anything with her mind.
“We see you, keep bluffing; they won’t find the brothers or Marie.”
She looked as if she was just acknowledging the answers Gerhardt was giving, but I knew she understood me.
“What‟s your name then?” said the vampire backing down just a bit.
“I‟m Gerhardt Bistadeau and this is Meena,” he said as he took Kate‟s hand.
Once I got their exact location, I broke the link.
“They‟re on the first floor in a room behind the stage,” I whispered.
“What do you want to do Katrina?” I heard Damien say, but we still couldn‟t see them.
“The rest of us will take our tablets and create a distraction.”
“We can kill them all right now,” Rosa said calmly as we pulled out our amulets and each selected a tablet.
“Yes we can and whoever is left will be taken care of by the water treatment,” Letta added.
“If we do this right, no one will be aware it was an outside force,” Damien said.
“I can start a fire, we‟ll go in and exterminate any evil that exists here and let this place burn to the ground.”
“Kate, we‟re going to distract them, when we do take your tablet. We‟re going to use the V formation to hunt them, meet me in the middle.”
We took our tablets and ran into the side entrance of the Opera House. Letta rushed down the aisle, up the steps to the stage and started a fire in the mid level curtains. Once we saw the smoke and flames, we began yelling. “Get out, there‟s a fire.”
Looking up to see the whole stage in a raging conflagration of flames that was consuming not only the curtains but the backdrops and prop area, the vampires franticly ran for the exits. We were ready for them, the surprised look on their faces as their heads left their necks was to be their last.
“Is everyone all right?” I said as I put my sword away. I heard seven „yeses‟.”
“We have to get out now, let‟s go! Don‟t stop until you get to the river,” Damien yelled.
Bells were ringing and water was already being thrown on the now raging fire. It was perfect cover; the decapitated vampires would all burn with the building.
When we got to the river, we watched the flames as they lit the late night sky.
“Great job everyone. I‟m glad that‟s over,” I said.
“What happened, Kate?” Eric said with concern.
“As soon as we crossed the street, vampires came from everywhere, they must have scented us.”
“It probably spooked them when they sensed four, but only saw two,” El concluded.
“Good thing Gerhardt was ready with his story about joining them, it kept them unsure, otherwise they might have killed us immediately instead of sending for Petroph.”
“We didn‟t have time to finish treating all the wells, I think while we‟re still invisible we should finish that before we leave, just for good measure.”
“Remember, just a few drops is all you need, we still have to treat Boston, and we don‟t know how much that‟s going to take,” Rosa said.
We split up again and quickly finished our final task in New Orleans. For now our job here was done. We had decided to meet at the lake this time. We wanted nothing more than to get as far away from this evil place as we could. The air was filled with the smoke and the smell of all that burned inside the Opera house; it was sickening and satisfying at the same time.
 CHAPTER NINE
We didn‟t stop again until we were past Atlanta. As we ran through sweet smelling orchards of fruit filled trees, cotton fields and long rows of tobacco plantings, I let my mind review the things that had taken place in the last few days. I‟d have to tell Allwain how great his invisibility tablets had worked. We found that the effects had actually lasted more than two hours before everyone was visible again. Allwain would be pleased.

Once we were comfortable with our surroundings we stopped. While the others rested, Damien and I went back to a small shop and filled a basket full of food and wine. We were even able to include in our purchases some homemade fruit pastries, particular favorites of Kate and myself.

I found it very funny that that while we were making our purchases, we heard many whisperings from other patrons in the shop, not about weapons, swords and knives but about “boots and pants”. We endured many furtive looks before we paid for our purchases and left the shop. Apparently, the gentle people of the south were scandalized by my apparel.
“I‟m so glad you‟re back, we‟re starving,” Kate said as she rifled through the basket.
We had lunch by a stream in a lush pine forest, the huge trees filtering the light and tempering the heat of midday.

“Can you believe how far we‟ve come?” El said as she ate a fresh juicy, what the shop keeper had called a “peach”.

“I wish we could explore more right now,” Letta said dreamily.
“Next time we come, it‟ll be to start our own coven,” Eric said as he pulled Kate close.
“I can‟t wait,” Rosa said as she stretched out on the ground gazing up to the tree tops and the clear blue sky beyond.
“I want to thank you Damien, Eric, for making sure I didn‟t have to deal with Marie.” Gerhardt‟s face showed the pain that we all knew he was feeling.
“While we were following her and her companion, she mentioned that even if you joined them, she had no intention of keeping her promise to you about sparing your father. I just thought you should know that Gerhardt,” Damien said solemnly.
“It makes my decision to join you obviously the right one. My father has always been there for me, I‟d do anything for him. They say the „truth will set you free‟. That was never truer than in my case.”
“Your father is a great man Gerhardt, a true and loyal friend to all our families,” I said trying to comfort him further.
“What did he say when you told him what Marie was trying to do?” Letta asked.
“Actually he wasn‟t shocked; he said he was proud that I had the courage to do the right thing.”
“We‟re proud of you too Gerhardt,” Rosa said as we all nodded in agreement.
“Since we‟re all relaxed and we have some time, I think we should see what‟s going on at home,” I said and then shoved the last piece of pastry into my mouth.
I motioned for them to join hands and as we came to the circle, I called,“Allwain are you there?”
“Katrina how wonderful, what’s happened?”
“We’re about halfway to Boston; we’ll arrive there tonight, finish our business and then head home.”
“So you took care of the brothers then?”
“Eric did; we had to eliminate most of the clan as well. How is everything at home?”
“The weather on the coast and in Paris is still just awful, but I have a feeling it will clear up soon. Otherwise everything is fine,” he chortled.
“Please let everyone know we’re all well and we’ll see them all soon.”
“Fine, fine, see you soon.”
“It‟s amazing, all your gifts I mean, I wish I had something to help as well,” said Gerhardt as we broke our concentration.
“I am sure that you do have a gift Gerhardt, you just haven‟t discovered it yet. I didn‟t know what mine was either until Katrina spoke with me when I was held captive,” Eric explained.
“We might as well make sure we‟re at full strength, for the rest of our journey. Everyone drink some crimson and then we‟ll head out,” Damien said holding out the flask.
So we drank up and packed the rest of the food away.
After we get our business done in Boston, we can stay in a nice hotel, get cleaned up and have dinner in a nice restaurant if you like.”
“Mmmm, a bath and a real bed?” Rosa said. “That sounds heavenly, let‟s go.”
Energized by the idea of a hotel, a bath and a real meal, we began our travel to Boston, ready to complete our task.
As we raced through valleys of beautiful mountains covered with maples and oaks, I thought the view must be stunning in the fall when the leaves changed colors. We traveled in silence, each preferring to keep their thoughts to themselves or openly marvel at in the beauty of the land that we crossed. We covered the miles without mishap and it was approaching mid afternoon when we stopped just outside of New York. Damien had in the previous months, positioned in strategic American cities, trusted people to transact his business. He invited Gerhardt to accompany him into New York to talk with the solicitor and attorney that were seeing to his interests there. As they left us, I thought about how fortunate we were to have Damien with us. His grasp of the economics of being a long lived vampire would serve us well as we lived in this country.
When they returned in early evening, we gathered to eat enough to refresh us yet again; it had been a long afternoon. As the enhanced crimson was being passed around, El commented on how much stronger and faster we had been since we had started this journey.
We noticed we had more speed since the energy boost given to us in the desert, and we had needed it today. Our ability to almost fly over the ground made the journey short and we found that we were on the outskirts of Boston in no time at all.
“Let‟s take a look at the map of Boston,” Damien said as he took down his sling and started to unroll it. He sat down on a rock outcropping and invited us to look at the map and make our decisions about how to proceed.
“Look, this is good news,” he said as he pointed to a section of the map. “They use a spring as the source of their water, which means one dose will treat the whole population. “These city maps have been so helpful; it‟s so easy to use our gifts to find things.”
“Now about the cousins; what do you want to do about them?” Eric asked me.
“We could just let the water take care of them,” Kate said.
“They live outside of Boston. I think that we should take a look and see what they‟re up to before we make our decision.”
So once again we sat in our circle, held hands and I asked. “Show us what we need to see.”
We located Devin. He was in the same room as before, slumped in a chair in front of a crackling fire. He looked shocked, completely dumbfounded.
“What is it my love?” said a women just entering the room. She had long brown hair rolled back at the sides, porcelain skin, brown eyes and bright red lips. She was a tiny thing, short and very petite.
“Geoffrey just called to me, the brothers and almost all of the New Orleans clan is dead.”
“Dead…how….when?” she said stunned at the news.
“Just last night, a….a fire…they couldn‟t get out. The Opera House was completely destroyed, burned to the ground.”
The woman came over to him then and stood beside his chair and ran the back of her hand across his cheek.
“It is a shock, but darling this is good news. Now you can rule the clan just as you always wished.”
“You really are heartless Victoria,” he said as he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her roughly. “It‟s what I love about you.”
“We should send word that the Council will convene here as soon as possible,” she said and then kissed him again.
The vision ended and I looked around to see shock on everyone‟s faces.
“We can‟t be surprised that they have gifts too,” I said. “After all, I had been able to speak to Nathaniel earlier.
“What about that woman, she seems more evil than Devin.”
“I‟m for treating the water and letting the potion do the deed. That was the original plan anyway,” El said.
“Once they‟ve fed on a human that‟s been treated with the potion, how long did Allwain say it would take the formula to work?” Eric asked.
“It could take effect as soon as the next day, but it will be several days to a week, before there are any deaths.”
“The clan may figure out that feeding on humans is causing them to get ill, but they won‟t know why,” El said. “And by then it will be to late anyway.”
“Just what they deserve,” Rosa added and we all agreed.
“If we are in agreement, let‟s locate the closest place that we can access the spring and be done with it,” I said.
Kate and I ran our hands over the map and closed our eyes, once we relaxed it was easy to find.
“Good, we don‟t have to go into town. The spring is not far from here.” I pointed to a spot on the map. “Here is it, near a farm house. Since this is a free flowing spring instead of a well, we may have to use more of the potion just to make sure it will be an effective treatment.”
“What about the cousins? We need to treat their water as well, since we don‟t know if they feed in the city or not,” Letta said.
“Most likely they do, it would be too dangerous for them to kill their own people or the people living close to their home,” Damien added.
“As arrogant as they are, I wouldn‟t put much past them,” Rosa said with distain.
Since El and I had the most potion left we raced to the farm, located the spring, and took out our two vials. We would need to use the rest of it to treat this spring. As we approached we could see lights in the farm house and heard a dog begin to bark. We used our speed, opened the vials, dumped their contents in, and then raced away.
“We‟re finished here, let‟s start for home,” I said. Soon we would all be together with our families again.
“We‟re going back to New York,” Damien informed us when we arrived. In earlier preparations, I had asked my advisor, Corbin to rent a house for the envoy to stay in after we arrived. He was able to do so, so when Gerhardt and I went into the city, I picked up the key from him. He‟ll have it stocked and servants in place when we arrive.”
“Wasn‟t he surprised to see you Damien?” Kate asked.
“He was, but he is too well trained to ask any questions.”
“Well let‟s go then,” Gerhardt said rubbing his hands together in obvious excitement.
“It was almost ten o‟clock when we arrived. Located across from a large tree filled park, the house was a beautiful, three story, chateau style mansion.
A butler answered our knock and assured us everything had been made ready for our arrival. We were surprised and grateful that tubs had been filled and were awaiting our use. This was welcome news indeed.
I spent a long time soaking. I couldn‟t believe how much I missed Sarah. This maid; a sweet young thing; took my clothes and said she would have them cleaned although from the look on her face and the way that she carried them, I was sure she would rather have thrown them away. She did, however, seem very intrigued by my weapons and the fact that I insisted that they remain where they were beside the tub.
We had all packed simple dresses in case we needed to look like proper young women. The maid had taken mine to be freshened and pressed when she took the traveling outfit to be cleaned. After I finished my bath it was already in my room waiting for me. I quickly put it on, and took a look in the mirror on the way out the door. I decided I looked presentable; although Sarah wouldn‟t have been happy with my hair, not at all. We had agreed to meet in the lower parlor and one by one we entered ready to enjoy the rest of the evening.
“I‟m going to purchase this house,” Damien said as he looked around the parlor. “I really like it and I‟m told that the area is quite exclusive.”
“It would make a nice investment Damien,” Gerhardt agreed. “I wouldn‟t mind buying something close by as well.”
Kate laughed, “Remember, wherever one of us is, the others won‟t be far away,”
“We‟re family now; I wouldn‟t have it any other way,” El added.
“Dinner is served, if you‟ll follow me I‟ll make sure everything is to your liking,” said the butler whose name turned out to be Victor. He looked to be in his fifties and was very aristocratic looking in his formal attire.
The dining room was gorgeous. It featured a large oval cherry wood table that had been set with fine white gold-edged china, ornate silver flatware, crystal stemware for wine, water and champagne. All lay atop crisp white linens. A large three tiered chandelier, dripping with hand cut crystal drops, hung from an incredibly ornate plaster ceiling and filled the two story room with multi colored light.
As we were seated in the chairs the gentlemen pulled out for us, I had the feeling we were merely on a splendid holiday. We truly enjoyed the seven course meal and talked of our accomplishments and all the wonders that we had seen along our journey.
“That was wonderful, I feel fantastic,” Rosa said as we stood and made our way to the library for brandy and cordials.
“I think I could get used to living here,” Eric said as we walked down the hallway past the center stairway.
“I thought that same thing about every part of the country that we came through,” Letta laughed. “I would love to live anywhere, except of course New Orleans, at least not for a while.”
“We definitely must have a presence in all the major cities, it just makes sense for financial and safety reasons,” Damien said his face taking on a serious expression. I could see that he was thinking of all the possibilities.
“Again, I just wish we had more time here,” I said.
“As much as we would all enjoy that, we can‟t take the chance. We all know that if Luena finds out we are here our families won‟t be safe,” El said. “We have to get home soon.”
“El‟s right and we‟ll have plenty of time to return at another time. Time is, after all is one of our best assets. We will each have a long, long life. And I want to spend part of mine discovering every part of this amazing land,” Kate said.
“Let‟s look at the map Damien; we can plan a new route back.”
Damien retrieved the map from his sling and we all gathered around the small library table.
“This land is vast, like Russia, but so much more diverse,” Eric said as we looked in awe at the map.
“How about this: we go straight across the middle of the country until we get to the mountains, follow them up all the way and then go back the way we came?” Damien said showing us the way with his finger.
“I think that sounds great, we wanted to see more of the west didn‟t we, Katrina?” Kate said. Eric was behind her his arms around her waist; they were such a good match I thought.
“It‟ll be a quick sightseeing trip, but still I can‟t wait,” I said and everyone else agreed.
“I‟m tired and I‟m going to make good use of my bed,” El said as she stretched her arms above her head.
We hadn‟t slept for five days and yet I didn‟t feel that I had to rest, only that I wanted to, but not alone.
Gerhardt, Rosa, Letta and El left the library and we heard Victor say he would show them their rooms.
“Damien, we should go to bed too,” I said with my mind.
He smiled and we said goodnight to Kate and Eric. I was sure they wouldn‟t be far behind us.
We didn‟t sleep much; we hadn‟t been alone since we left home. In the morning, we washed up, dressed and went down to the breakfast Damien had thoughtfully ordered for us the night before. Eggs had never tasted so good. Eric and Kate came down next, the big smiles on their faces told me they probably hadn‟t slept much either.
Behind Eric and Kate, Gerhardt straggled in followed by Rosa, El and Letta. We were a voracious group and ate everything that was put in front of us. The menu included: eggs made several different ways, fried potatoes, bacon, ham and sausages, fresh orange juice and hot herb tea.
As soon as we finished breakfast, we packed. Our clothes had been delivered to our room cleaned and pressed. We rolled everything together, strapped on our weapons and headed out the door. Although the staff said they had already been paid, Damien paid them again and thanked them for the fine service.
We walked across the street to the park and took a final look around.
“Everyone ready to go?” Damien asked as he made final adjustments to his sling.
We all were, so he took the lead and we raced off. We didn‟t stop until we got outside St. Louis.
“We‟re definitely faster; we should get home at least a day early,” Eric said as we drank some crimson and ate some of the food packed for us before we left New York.
We got to the mountains a few hours later and headed north. Soon we just had to marvel at the jagged mountain peaks that seemed to rise right out of a lake were we stopped to rest. This was in the Wyoming territory, where as we continued north we came to a place that bubbled, oozed, shot hot water high into the air and smelled a little like rotten eggs.
“It‟s a lot like Iceland actually,” Eric said as we looked into clear blue pools next to the bubbling multi colored mud.
The game was so plentiful here, that we hunted for our dinner. Each of us having our choice from huge herds of deer, antelope and large humped back, ill tempered beasts in herds that spanned as far as our eyes could see. That‟s just the beast that interested me; the more challenging the better. As the herd thundered by, I picked a smaller young male; first following and then culling him from the herd. I never felt more alive as I did while racing beside him. It didn‟t matter that the blood he would give me wasn‟t enhanced; it was the hunt that I really needed. He was so strong it took all my vampire strength to bring him down and after I fed I looked up and saw a small band of Indians just above me on the ridge. They just looked down at me and then turned their spotted ponies around and rode away.
We again raced north where the scenery featured beautiful valleys divided by rushing rivers, flanked by slopes of virgin timber and steaming hot springs paradise. We finally stopped to rest near the city of Calgary.
“I can‟t believe that we can travel as far as we have and not be tired.” El marveled as we stopped and drank from a stream. “The further we travel the easier it seems to get,” she added.
“Allwain said that the new crimson‟s effect would be compounded, the more we drink the better the effects will be and the longer it will last,” I said.
It wasn‟t long until we reached the same hot springs we luxuriated in on our way down. We stopped for a couple of hours to wash up and hunt, then refreshed and with only a short few days to home, we pushed on. We reached and crossed the Bering Sea in just two days and in two more days we were at the German border.
Instinctively I scented, I didn‟t “see” anything evil, nor did Kate.
“Let‟s go home,” I said to the others as I called to Allwain with my mind.“Allwain, we’re almost home.”
“That’s wonderful Katrina,” he replied. “I’ll stop the rain on the coast and in Paris. Welcome back.”

Just hours later as we walked toward the front gate, horses cantered out to meet us.
“It‟s Thomas, Quinn, Simon and Avery!” El cried as she started to weep.
Thomas jumped from his horse and ran to her hugging, kissing her and lifting her off her feet. Tears were rolling down my cheeks now too. We were all so glad to be home. I walked to Quinn who had remained on his horse and was scowling down at me. I put my cheek on his leg and although there was a hesitation, he put his hand on my head; words weren‟t needed.
All of our families had assembled and were waiting anxiously for us in the courtyard when we came through the gate. To Damien‟s surprise and great pleasure his father and Margarite were also there. They had all been told we were on a mission, but didn‟t know anything further.
Sarah pushed her way through the crowd and hugged each of us; swaying back and forth and crying, “My girls, my girls, I‟ve been so worried about all of you.”
Our parents joined her and Damien, Eric and Gerhardt were shaking hands and getting pats on the back.
“Good to see you all safe and sound,” Father said as he gave Kate and me a hug. “I‟ll let you get cleaned up and rest. This afternoon you can brief the Council about your mission, and tonight we celebrate!”
Everyone clapped and cheered. “You‟d think we were heroes or something,” El said as we started to walk to our quarters.
“Well, we kind of are you know,” Kate said.
“Don‟t start that, we‟re just doing what needs to be done, thinking any other way will get us in trouble,” I scolded.
Sarah was happily rushing in and out with trays, ordering the servant girls to hurry and fill our baths.
“I thought you‟d at least look tired or weak, but I‟ve never seen any of you look healthier or more beautiful.”
“You look pretty great to us too Sarah, we missed you, didn‟t we?” El said as we dropped our slings at the door and our weapons by our tubs. We watched patiently as we waited for them to be filled. Sarah was looking at me and wringing her hands.
I sighed, “Sarah it‟s all right you can say it. I‟ve actually missed hearing it.”
“Your hair is just…. awful,” she said turning me and looking at the filthy twist of hair cascading down my back. “I know it couldn‟t be helped but this… well, I‟m sure I‟ll be able to fix it.”
Finally, the tub was filled and I stepped in and sunk down into the hot lavender scented water and sighed.
“Katrina,” I heard in my mind.
“Yes, Damien?”
“I miss you.”
“I’m right here.”
“We’ve been side by side for days; to be separated from you now seems like punishment.”
“I don’t feel like resting and I’d love to see Nulla and Theo. Give me just a little while longer to let Sarah fuss over me and I’ll meet you at the stables.”
Sarah washed my hair and told me how terrible the weather had been, but that everyone had been good natured about it and now plans could resume for everyone‟s departure.
“Are you still going to Paris Katrina?”
“Yes, yes we are. We‟ll be leaving in a few days.”
I didn‟t want to think about that right now. She combed my hair humming as she added sandalwood oil. Finally she stood back, declaring me „fit to be seen again‟.
I quickly put on a simple blue dress and headed over to the stables. We‟d have to stop in to see Allwain later today and give him the details of our mission. As I crossed the courtyard Quinn was standing at the far edge, arms crossed and still looking angry.
“Oh what? I couldn‟t tell anyone, not even you. I‟m fine, we‟re all fine,” I said as I stopped in front of him.
He said nothing just uncrossed his arms and held them out to me. I walked in letting them close around me, relieved to be „forgiven‟ and welcomed in once again. He held me for a while in silence, sighed and then kissed the top of my head.
“It‟s maddening you know, not being able to help, not knowing where you are or if you‟re all right,” he said as he squeezed me tighter.
“I‟m sorry, I really am, but it was important that we left in secret and we did what we needed to do to make us all safer.”
He released me finally and held me out from him. I was happy to see a smile on his face. I reached up and brushed the wisps of hair from his forehead. His smile always made me melt and I knew we never would stay mad at each other long.
“I‟ll walk with you, if you don‟t mind?”
“Of course I don‟t mind.”
“I‟ve some news.” At my quick look, he modified it to, “Some good news,” he said as we started to walk.
I looked over to him. “What? I‟d love some good news for a change.”
Gunter‟s wife Patty is going to have a baby. She‟s due at the end of November she thinks.”
I stopped and gave him another hug. “That‟s fantastic news! Gunter must be thrilled.”
“He is,” he said as we continued on. “Of course it willbe a boy.”
“I hope you won‟t be too disappointed if it‟s not.”
“No, but that would be a first,” he laughed. He stopped just as we arrived at the stables. “I‟m glad you‟re back, Kat, please don‟t make a habit out of leaving us behind. I‟ll see you later.” He smiled and walked away.
Damien was already in the stable feeding Theo a carrot.
“Nulla,” I called. “How are you girl?” She whinnied and tossed her head.
Damien kissed my cheek and handed me an apple to feed her.
“I see Sarah worked her magic on your hair yet again,” he laughed.
“She tried so hard not to say it, but I told her it was okay and I really did miss hearing her say how bad it was.”
We laughed, it was a nice thing laughing, I thought.
“How‟s Theo, did they exercise him while you were gone?”
They said they did, I hope we can take them out tomorrow, it‟s been so long.”
“I‟d love that,” I said as I turned towards him again.
“I saw your father earlier when we arrived, how is he?”
He‟s very proud of me; it‟s wonderful to see that in his eyes.”
I put my hand on his cheek and he closed his eyes and leaned into my touch.“I love you,” I said to him with my mind.
“And I you.”
“Guess what? Quinn just told me that Gunter‟s wife Patty is going to have a baby around the end of November. Of course they‟re all sure it‟s going to be a boy.”
“That‟s great news, we‟ll have to get them larger quarters I think,” he laughed then suddenly serious he said,“Marry me?” with his mind.
Tears filled my eyes and I kissed him.“There’s nothing I’d rather do. Yes, I’d love to be your wife.”
“That is if your father agrees,” he said as he pulled me into his arms.
“You‟ll just have to ask him.”
“I know. He probably will think you‟re too young, but life can be fleeting, even for vampires, I can‟t stand to be apart from you any longer.”

“Eric, oh good, I know you‟re probably tired, but I had to speak with you, I hope you don‟t mind?”
“Of course not Allwain, what is it?”
“You are aware I am sure, that we have established sanctuaries open to all races but secreted from the human populations. I‟ve had news from the sanctuary of Sangustae that might interest you. Eric, your parents are alive and safe! “And …” Allwain stopped mid sentence. “…..Eric, are you all right?”
“I feel a little dizzy. I can‟t believe it, after all this time not knowing, thinking the worst…”
“Here sit down. Tao, please get Eric some herb tea.”
“My parents are alive and I will be able to tell them that I have avenged my brother‟s death!” he said pounding his fists on the table, a huge smile on his face, but his eyes filled with tears. “When can I see them? Are they coming back here?”
“Your father has been unwell and his weakened state makes it unwise to make such a journey. When you return from Paris I hope the girls will go with you and attempt to heal him. Tao will guide you,” he said as he gestured toward Tao who was coming with the tea.
“Thank you, Tao,” Eric said.
Tao bowed slightly. “It will be my honor to guide you, Eric.”
“Now I know you‟re excited about my news, but will you please enlighten me on your trip, I assume everything went well?”
“We treated the water in San Francisco and Boston.” Eric began as he sipped his tea. “We killed the brothers and most of their clan, which I am sad to say for Gerhardt‟s sake, included his mother. While we were following the brothers, Kate and Gerhardt were captured and taken to the clan‟s lair, the French Opera House. We used your invisibility tablets; which you will be happy to hear, were a great success during our mission. Because we couldn‟t be seen, we saved them and killed the others. Letta started a fire for a distraction that burned the Opera House with the decapitated vampires inside, to the ground. We found out later that the one called Geoffrey survived, but didn‟t suspect anything but the fire as the cause of the deaths. The water treatment should finish off the rest.”
“The humans will think it‟s the plague, and they will destroy the bodies, you can be assured,” Allwain said confidently. “You look much better now; how do you feel?”
“Relieved and happy. My family here is safe and my parents are alive; thank you for everything. Allwain, how can I ever repay what you for what you have given me; my life first and now this wonderful news?”
“You‟ve already repaid any debt you may think you owed by joining the protectors. Now go, have lunch and tell your new family your news.”
We all had lunch together, everyone laughed at our tales of strange beasts, and magical territories.
“We‟re so happy for you Eric, it‟s wonderful news about your parents,” I said wondering now if he would tell Kale who he really was now.
After lunch the Council convened and we formally gave our report on the success of our assignment and all that we had seen.
“How should we proceed Fredrik, send the envoy now or wait?” Marcus asked. “Demitrie is at the port waiting as we speak.”
Philepe was quiet; Gerhardt must have informed him privately about Marie.
“We need to take care of the situation in Paris, and then our families will be safe while we‟re gone.” Damien told the Council.
“When do you want to begin that task?” Father asked us.
“We should be able to leave in just a few days,” I said with confidence.
The rest of the Council meeting was filled with normal council business. Since many of the existing members were going to the Americas replacement members had been nominated, voted on and be installed. The new members were, Kale Gelf of Denmark, Marcus Dovorak of Romania and Sven Arkiel of Norway. The remaining council members were, my father of course, Momar from Africa and Lui Lee, Gomon Clan of Asia, Gerhardt was also appointed to take his father‟s place.
“I can‟t believe how different Gerhardt is; he‟s matured overnight it seems,” Rosa marveled.
“I guess the same could be said about all of us, don‟t you think?” El said as we watched the new council being sworn in and then receive their robes. We still had a lot to figure out before we went to Paris.
 CHAPTER TEN
Luena looked East out into the dark, storm-filled night, as the lightening backlit the buildings and cathedrals across the river. She‟d never seen waves like this on the river before. It wasn‟t normal weather, but then nothing was normal in her life anymore.

“Damn you Damien, I swear you‟ll pay for turning your back on me,” she said through her teeth as she clenched her fists and pounded them on the window sill.

“Mother,” she said to the woman just entering the room from behind her. “Any news from Daniela?”
“No, and it worries me, she should have been back by now,” said Antoinette.
“It‟s probably just the bad weather,” Luena said not turning away from the window.
“Constantine says he hopes it wasn‟t like this in Germany, as the magic he used will be of no use in the rain.”
“That‟s something he should have thought about earlier.”
“He saw no chance of rain when the spies were sent, this rain can‟t be natural, it chills me to the bone.”
“We must know what they are planning. Our timing is vital. If they get to America, they will surely find the clans established there and use their
overwhelming numbers to destroy them.”
“If the legend is true about the Protectors, Luena, they won‟t need anyone else.”
“Exactly why we have to destroy the Five!” Luena cried as she turned from the window. Then we can continue with our plans to end the human‟s domination of this continent.”
“Yes, we‟ll pit them against each other and let them destroy themselves.”
“Most of them are so easily manipulated, especially those that already have a tendency for evil within them. Of course sometimes it‟s been fun to turn those and use them as our weapons,” she mused.
“What better way to attack those that support the Five than to start in Germany?”
“While the Council tries to keep the peace, we‟ll make our American clans stronger and dominate that new land. Our plan of attacking them on two fronts will make it difficult for them to defeat us, making our success much more likely.”
“It‟s not going to be easy to destroy the Five, especially with the Lord of the Wizards on their side.”
“I still have someone on the inside helping us, and I have plans for Damien. Once we are able to divide this group and their circle of associates it will be easier to dispose of them.”
“I hope you haven‟t underestimated them Luena. Allwain obviously believes they are the Five from the prophecy or he wouldn‟t have performed the protection ceremony. And more to the point, we have noidea what their gifts are.”
“I‟m going to get Damien‟s help, whether he wants to give it or not. We need to continue with our plans to attack them on several different fronts to divide them.”
“That makes us vulnerable too Luena, we don‟t have the numbers needed yet and we‟re not sure how strong they‟ve become.”
“You sound like you‟re changing your mind about what we‟re trying to do Mother.”
“Luena, I lived through many conflicts, even before the clan wars.I’ve been through this before, remember? I know who these men are and what they stand for and I won‟t make the same mistake I did then. Precise planning and proceeding cautiously will serve us well. This small group has just destroyed years of our work in just a few days; and that was before they were joined in the ceremony. I am just cautioning you against your impetuous nature, Luena.”
“Mother, Marie assures me that her son Gerhardt will lead them directly into whatever trap we set up.”
Antoinette returned hotly, “Marie wishes to sit at Petroph‟s side and rule the Americas with the brothers; she cares nothing about our revenge or the Five.”
“Just my point Mother, the brothers don‟t believe in the prophecy, while I‟m not convinced either, I tried to keep the girls apart just as a precaution. However, now I know at the very least these girls work extremely well together, just as I know that the cornerstone on which the group is built is Katrina. Her power is the difference between the success and failure of both our sides.
“The fact that Damien is in love with her has no bearing on your decision to destroy her?”
Luena laughed, “I admit that‟s a bonus, but I prefer to capture her and try to use whatever power she possesses to our advantage. I failed in that effort once before and I assure you I willnot fail again.”
“I wish we would hear from Daniela.”
“I told her not to contact Damien. I knew it would just complicate things and make everyone around him more suspicious.”
“She thinks if she could get him to let his guard down, it could help us in our efforts to trap Katrina, and you‟ll have to admit, she did come back from Germany with something useful.”
“Damien is dead to me, Mother. He‟s already proven that he would give his life for her. He won‟t help us willingly.”
“Do you think Katrina would do the same? I wonder if she truly loves Damien and if we can use that against her to our favor?”
“Look, finally the rain has lessened, the sky is clearing. Maybe now Daniela will be back with news.”
“There will be no news from Daniela,” said a tall dark man with long black hair and beard as he entered the room.
“What do you mean Constantine?” Antoinette said stiffening, expecting the worst.
“Although I cannot see inside the castle or see anyone that Allwain has protected, I can see our people and Daniela is dead.
“NOooo……” Antoinette wailed covering her mouth with her fist.
“Tell us what you know Constantine,” Luena demanded.
“I could see her body burning, past tense. This unnatural weather has been blocking all my efforts to see outside of Paris. But as it started to clear I was able to “see”. None of our spies survived and in fact they have been dead almost two weeks.”
“What? How can that be!” screamed Luena.
“I can‟t believe that my sister is gone,” Antoinette sobbed.
“Allwain has used the weather to hide this and I believe something more, I just don‟t know what.”
We got back to our rooms after the Council meeting to find fresh flowers not only in the common room but in each of our bedrooms. The table in the common room was loaded down with a wide assortment of desserts and snacks.
“I can‟t tell you how happy it makes me having you all back safe and sound,” Sarah said gleefully.
“Thank you again Sarah, it‟s good to be back safe and sound too,” I laughed as we walked over to the table to have a snack and something to drink.
“I did miss our bath tubs, but honestly there was nothing like soaking in that bubbling hot spring surrounded by mountains,” Rosa said trying to recall every second.
“I, for one, fell totally in love with America, but once I got home I realized how much I had missed everyone I loved,” I said as I filled my plate.
“I know, as exciting as it will be to start a new coven it‟s going to be difficult to leave our families,” El said as she picked out some grapes from the large platter of fruit.
Well, I‟ll tell you something right now, you‟re not going anywhere without me. Promise me, all of you this very minute,” Sarah demanded, hands on her hips and looking very stern.
“Why Sarah, we wouldn‟t think of leaving you,” I laughed. “We couldn‟t survive without you, right girls?”
“There‟s no rush, now we can take our time before going back to America if we want to,” Kate said with a sigh. “I think I‟m going to take a nap before dinner how about the rest of you?”
We all agreed, Sarah wanted to brush my hair out again, I think she just wanted to spend the extra time with me, and it was just what I needed.
“The whole castle was somber the entire time you were away. The Watchers…well you can imagine how they were. Quinn and Thomas especially were beside themselves with worry.”
“I know, but it just couldn‟t be helped.”
“We all know that. It just doesn‟t make it any easier for those of us left behind; we all felt so helpless.”
“We couldn‟t have done what we had to do if we didn‟t have all of you to help and support us. Now I‟d like to sleep a little while before the celebration dinner.”
I was grateful for a dreamless sleep and woke totally refreshed after an hour or so. I knew we had to look for Luena, but that could wait. Tonight was for celebration with family and friends.
“Girls, time to get ready for diner. Come see what just arrived for you,” Sarah called from the common room.
Mother had sent us an assortment of gorgeous silk gowns with exquisite detailing, each with shoes and jewelry to match. We were invited to choose from them for the celebration. I wasn‟t as excited as the others, and would be content to take which ever gown they left me. I was more interested in seeing Damien.
Kate chose a gown in a light purple, mine was about two shades darker, a deep royal. El, who is usually our most conservative sister, surprised us by choosing a scarlet red gown.
“Rosa, I don‟t think I‟ve ever seen you choose sapphire blue before; it looks wonderful on you,” El said as Rosa entered the common room.
Letta came out of her room last; she had chosen a shell pink gown with simple lines in a fabric that clung to her sexy curves.
“I‟m glad we didn‟t fuss with your hair, wearing it down looks so lovely on all of you,” Sarah said as she looked at each of us. “I couldn‟t be prouder of you if you were my own daughters.”
“Oh, Sarah, don‟t cry, I know that I speak for us all.” I looked around at the now nodding girls. “We all feel like your daughters, and we all love you.” Kate invited all for a group hug before Sarah shooed us out the door.
We had decided to keep our jewelry simple, choosing to wear the bracelets our watcher brothers made us for our last birthday. I added the necklace Damien had given me that same night. Thomas was waiting outside in the hall. He looked so handsome dressed in his finery. El‟s eyes lit up when she saw him. I knew that she had missed him so much.
They headed down the hall arm in arm and the rest of us followed. As we glided down the stairs we could see Eric, Damien, Kale and Gerhardt waiting to escort us to dinner. Our fathers were now in the background, smiling; eyes filled with pride.
The dining room was again magical. Lilies of all different colors graced the tables filling the room with their heavenly scent. The soft glow of candlelight added to the romance as we joined family and friends to celebrate our journeys end and the successful completion of our task.
“Elizabeth, once again you‟ve out done yourself. I thought the girls‟ birthday celebration couldn‟t be topped, but here‟s the proof,” Ricardo said as he gestured to the beautiful surroundings.
“How very nice of you to say so, Ricardo. I loved doing it. After all, how can we ever do enough to show our appreciation for what our children are doing?”
“That‟s so true,” added Philepe. “We‟re all so thankful that they are all back safely and have completed their mission.”
“I‟d like to propose a toast,” Father said as he stood and held his champagne glass high. “Pride fills our hearts as we thank you for taking on this
monumental task that was thrust upon you. Whatever lies ahead, we promise all our love, trust and support.”
“Here, here,” rang out across the dining hall.
We looked around at each other. In just a few months our lives had totally changed. We had acquired a new family made from what were once strangers and we had been changed from being daughters to being protectors. What would have been overwhelming just a few months ago now seemed normal. Then I looked at Damien.
“Destiny,” he said without speaking.
I smiled, it was true and I felt this was only the beginning; there was much we would be called upon to do. Allwain once said that “those that would join us would be the difference between our success and our failure.” Looking around this table full of family and friends, I felt secure in the knowledge that they would do, without question, whatever was asked of them. Gerhardt, Damien and Eric had each proven their loyalty and Allwain‟s‟ prophecy already.
“Shall we all move to the ballroom?” Father asked.
“It‟s been such a lovely evening hasn‟t it?” I said to Damien as we rose to leave.
“It has, and everyone here feels like family now.”
“You‟re right; we‟re all in this together and we‟re going to need every one of them and more.”
“Have you seen something new?” he asked cautiously.
“No, just a feeling so far, but it‟s something other than Luena.”
“Not tonight, Katrina,” Damien said, taking my arm, let‟s just enjoy each other. Do you wish to go out to the veranda?”
I agreed and we walked arm in arm out into the soft night air. This veranda was located at the rear of the castle and overlooked yet another garden. This was a formal garden, with low hedges forming intricate patterns to be enjoyed best just from this very spot.
The moon was almost full, and as a light breeze freshened from the north, I knew that in a month fall would be on its way and these long summer nights would be but a memory.
“Does it seem to you, that we‟ve never been away, Damien?” I said as I turned away from the garden view and looked up into his gorgeous face.
“It does,” he said looking lovingly into my eyes. “The memories are all I have to assure me that we actually did what we did.”
“I never thought when we started out, that I would come home with more good memories than bad.”
“Katrina, I want you to know, I just sent two sets of instructions to my solicitor and accountant in New York. First for them to purchase the house we occupied there for whatever price necessary to acquire it. And I also want to secure as many acres of land around the sacred site outside of Santa Fe as possible, so that we may always protect it.
“What a wonderful idea,” I said as I pulled him to me and kissed him passionately. “I wish we could buy the entire country, I loved it all so much.”
He laughed, “One piece at a time, Katrina.”
“Your father being here when we got back was a nice surprise. I could tell that he‟s proud of you.”
“I‟m sure for many years he thought I was more likely to be banished than make him proud, and if it wasn‟t for you, thatcould have been my fate.”
We kissed again and then headed back inside to say goodnight. As much as I wanted to spend the night with him, we decided we needed to rest. So I kissed him goodnight at the bottom of the stairs and made my way up into the hallway where Simon was waiting. I could see that Max; Rosa‟s watcher was beside the door.
“Are all of the girls back, Simon?” I asked as we approached Max.
“Yes, you‟re the last, everyone was pretty tired.”
I smiled at him, happy in the news that I‟d heard. “Quinn informed me that you‟ll all be uncles soon.”
“That‟s right, and we‟re all very excited about it, we can‟t wait.”
I had to laugh. “All you big, tough guys are really just softies; that baby will have you all wrapped around its little fingers.”
“I‟ll take over Max, good night Katrina,” Simon said as we reached the door.
“Good night Simon, Max.”
As I entered the common room, Sarah was cleaning up.
“Would you like a snack or something to drink before you go to bed Katrina?”
“That sounds good, but I think I‟d like to change first, if you don‟t mind.”
“No, of course I don‟t mind, let me help you,” she said as she followed me into my bedroom.
“When I was down in the kitchen gathering food, I heard so many wonderful comments on how the five of you look. Not just how beautiful you all are, but how you have a special glow to you since you returned.”
I remembered Gerhardt saying something similar after our experience in the desert.
“It must be the enhanced crimson, it really helped us on our trip and really, we have never felt better, except now that we‟re back we‟re exhausted,” I laughed.
“After what you‟ve been through, you deserve a rest. Now let‟s finish getting this gorgeous gown off and a nice soft nightgown on, and then I‟m sure you‟ll feel better.”
It did make me feel better, I thought, now for that snack. As I came out of my room Kate was coming out of hers.
“Hungry?” she laughed.
“Well, I‟d hate for Sarah to have gone to all that trouble bringing food up and have no one eat it,” I said as I followed her into the common room.
“It was a lovely night, but all of a sudden I was so tired,” Kate said as she shoved a pastry into her mouth.
“It‟s hit us all at the same time. How was Eric tonight? Do you think he‟ll tell Kale who he really is now?”
“He‟s so happy, hearing that his parents are alive, that I don‟t think he‟ll think about that until after he sees them.”
“When will that be?”
“Allwain said his father Magnus isn‟t well, Eric will have to go to them after we get back from Paris.”
“Does that mean we‟ll allgo?” I asked a little stunned by the thought of traveling to Sangustae.
“If El needs to go along to heal Magnus, I doubt anyone could keep the rest of us from going.”
“They could try,” I said as I finished the last of the strudel.
“That really hit the spot, are you ready to get some sleep now?” Kate said as she pushed her chair away from the table.
“I am. I‟ll see you in the morning; we have a lot of work to do before we go to Paris. Good night Kate,” I said as I gave her a hug.
“Why is it so dark in here?” I asked myself as I woke and stretched my arms over my head.
Not only was it too dark, but it smelled damp and I could hear water dripping in the distance.
“Where am I, am I dreaming?”
My vision naturally adjusted so that I could see in the dark. This was definitely not my room. It looked like a cave, with a low stone ceiling and roughly carved stone walls. It was cold and I was still in my linen nightgown and bare feet.
The small bed I was in sat practically on the floor. There was no door in the opening I could see and other than a chamber pot; nothing else was in the room.
“Damien?” I called with my mind.
Nothing.
“Allwain?”
Again no reply.
“I‟m on my own,” I thought, no clothes, no boots, and no weapons, totally on my own.
I couldn‟t dwell on how I had gotten here; I had to get out.
I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. “Guide me,” I asked.
What I sensed was that I was deep, very deep underground and that I wasn‟t alone. The scent I didn‟t recognize; it wasn‟t human or vampire, but something else. Was it evil? Not that I could tell. How far away was this being? Not far I surmised; maybe a quarter of a mile.
I crawled out of bed and stood; the ceiling wasn‟t much taller than I was and I had to duck through the arched opening in the thick rock wall.
The walls were cold and uneven, but not wet; the floor was a little slimy so I walked slowly, placing my feet carefully so as not to fall.

“ Thank goodness for vampire vision.” I thought as I walked down the narrow corridor towards the scent I had found earlier.

“ This is crazy. How could this be?” I wondered now doubting my sanity as continued on.
As I got closer to my destination I could see the glow of light. Who or whatever it was couldn‟t see without the light and the darkness would be an advantage to me.
When I got to the source of both the scent and the light, I carefully peeked into the room to my left. It was much larger than the one I woke up in, and had more furniture: a desk, small table and two wooden chairs.
There were books and bowls on shelves on the far wall. Cups and plates on the table that also held a lantern, oil by the smell.
The scent was coming from an opening to my right. I had to see. Maybe they would help me, but I wasn‟t about to call out until I knew what or who I was dealing with.
Quietly I crossed the room, my bare feet silent on the floor. Once I reached the open doorway I stopped and looked through.
I saw a man facing away from me. I could see that he had long dark hair that reached halfway down the back of his simple brown robe. He was standing in front of what looked like a wash stand.
“What have you gotten me into? I‟ve told you hundreds of times I will not be a part of any of this. Now leave me be. I came here to get away from your world. I‟ll not be drawn back into it by you! What do you mean I have no choice now? She‟s here; who‟s here, what have you done?”
“I think they mean me,” I said softly trying not to startle him too much.
He whirled around with a start and his hand flew to his chest.
“Good Lord. How did you get here, who are you?” he said trying to see me better.
He looked young; I was surprised by that, although I don‟t know why. He had a long dark beard to match his hair, he was about six feet tall and his simple brown robe was tied with a cord at his waist. His piercing blue eyes were wide with shock.
“I‟m sorry; I didn‟t mean to frighten you. I don‟t know how I got here or why. My name is Katrina. I woke up in a small room down the corridor. Can you help me get home?”
“Where‟s home, Katrina?”
“Mormont; in Germany, but anywhere above ground would be fine I suppose.”
“I have to sit down,” he said looking wildly around.
There was a small bed similar to the one I woke up on close by. He walked over to it and sat on the edge; put his head in his hands and said to himself.
“This can‟t be my destiny….I could still refuse.”
Then he looked up at me. When he did, the expression on his face changed.
“What else do they call you, Katrina?”
At first I didn‟t understand what he meant. Trust your instinct I told myself.
“Protector of the races,” I said confidently standing up tall.
He stood and walked slowly over to me, looked me straight in the eye; not saying a word, but perhaps trying to see the truth that lay within me.
“It‟s true? The prophecy is true?”
“Yes. Do you know how I got here or why?”
“They want me to extract your power so they can use it to destroy as many of the peaceful races as possible.”
“Who are they? Why you and how….”
“I‟m the last of my race, the only one that can circumvent the protections that surround you.”
He turned away then, clasped his hands behind his back and started to pace back and forth. In a few minutes he stopped and looked at me again. Starting at my bare feet, his appraisal began to work up my body, slowly, pausing now again, finally stopping at my face. He said nothing, but once more his expression softened and he again looked into my eyes.
I couldn‟t believe what I was seeing in his eyes now. What started out as fear and trepidation had turned to passion.
“Your power is very strong, Katrina. I can counter act any force that has been put in place around you, but your true power comes from within.”
Just as he spoke, the white jade ring Allwain had placed on my right thumb started to warm. This was a warning of evil, something I hadn‟t sensed until now. “Use your power” all my instincts told me. I looked up at him. “I feel strong power within you as well; tell me your story,” I said as I reached out my hand to him.
He smiled and took it. This made the ring very warm indeed.
He gave me another head to toe examination and said, “First let me get you a robe, and then we‟ll talk.”
Now I sensed something else within him; a tortured soul.
He walked over to a low wooden chest at the end of his bed, lifted the lid, pulled out a gray woolen robe and held it up. I turned and let him slide it up my arms and around my shoulders. I then tied the simple belt firmly and turned back to him.
“Let us go into the front room and have a seat at the table,” he said as he gestured for me to lead the way.
He pulled out a chair for me and then sat down across the table.
“My name is Raven. I am a Keltan, the last Keltan as far as I know. I put myself in isolation in this underworld so that I could not be persuaded to help those that wished to use my powers. Hate was consuming me and it was the only way I could think of to keep myself from slipping further into the evil abyss that holds so many others.”
He was looking down at the table, his hands in fists so tight his flesh was turning white.
“My race was destroyed because of this very corruption by those wishing to end the peaceful coexistence of all the races.”
“How long have you been here?”
“One hundred and twenty years, thirty days and sixteen hours,” he said finally looking up and into my eyes.
I reached over and placed my hands over his. I could feel warmth from my ring, but nothing like it was earlier.
“The Five have been joined because once again evil seeks total domination. This cannot be achieved without sacrificing the peaceful races of the world, including mine. Humans will be used as the catalyst to start this process very soon, if we don‟t intercede.”
I could tell that I was winning him over; the look in his eye was definitely passion. He wanted me.
He sighed, making an effort to relax, he then took my hands in his, never breaking our gaze.
“Join us Raven.”
I felt the ring heat, but I didn‟t dare change my expression or look away.
“What are you feeling, tell me?”
“That I‟m drawn to you and want to keep you here with me….forever. Let them do as they wish above, I‟ll have you.”
“Then you join them. All the years you spent in isolation will have been for nothing,” I said matter-offactly, and without anger.
Now, as he squeezed my hands tighter and tighter, the ring burned my thumb.
“Go then, leave me!” he said tossing my hands aside, pushing away from the table violently. Then he stood and turned away.
Trying to stay calm, I slowly rose and walked to him. He seemed consumed by his anger and I was determined to find out if he was truly evil or if there was there a chance that he would let me help him.
I walked around in front of him and as I did I sensed he wanted to back away, but he didn‟t. I put my arms around his neck and drew myself closer until my face rested on his shoulder and I could take in his scent.
He was trying so hard to hold himself apart from me that his heart was pounding. I closed my eyes and asked, “Show me his truth.” “Get away, do whatever you have to do to get away!” my instincts yelled.
“Come back with me, let me help you,” I whispered.
As my breath hit his neck he shivered and pulled slightly back.
“Help me fulfill my destiny Raven,” I said as I pulled him closer, keeping my arms around his neck.
“I can‟t go with you, not now. I still can‟t fully control the evil within me,” he said sadness filling his voice.
The ring was cool now and in his eyes I saw only pain. I felt sadness for him now and more than anything, I wished that I could help him.
I looked up at him. “I was meant to protect all the races. I will find a way to save yours. In return all I will ask is that you help us save the others.”
He relaxed now, the painful look in his eyes changed and he leaned down, shaking slightly and kissed me with such tenderness. I returned his kiss sending him the message that my words were true. He didn‟t hold me or try to pull me closer; just accepted a long lovely kiss.
As we parted, I opened my eyes. His were still closed as if he was putting this moment in a special place in his consciousness.
Then his eyes snapped open. “You have to go back, right now. I don‟t know how long I can keep my other half repressed,” he said his face now filled with panic.
“But I don‟t know how.”
“Somehow they have opened a portal inside your room at home. That means someone close to you had to put an object into your room so that they could open the portal from anywhere. I don‟t have time to explain any further, but once I send you back don‟t go into that room again until you have someone skilled in magic go through it and find the portal. Do you understand, Katrina?” he said frantically.
“I understand, Raven.”
He took my hand and we rushed down the dark corridor back to the room that I had woken in.
“Lie down, hurry! As soon as they realize that you‟re gone from here, they‟ll try to send you somewhere else,” he said as he pushed me over to the bed and continued, “When you get back to your room, get out of it as fast as you can.”
I quickly got back into the small bed and lay down. My mind was racing; who would have been in my room? Who would have tried to do me harm? I knew the magic used wasn‟t itself evil or it wouldn‟t have worked.
The Keltan stood beside the bed, raised his arms straight out in front of him and over me and made a movement like he was opening cupboard doors.
“Portantia, optumata, decenhomnia,” he chanted.
A bright light instantly surrounded me.
“I truly wish to help you Raven, find me.”
“Goodbye, Katrina.”
In seconds the bright light faded and I was back in my own bed. I jumped up grabbed my weapons and raced out, slamming the door behind me. I went straight next door to Kate‟s room.
“Kate wake up, wake up!” I said urgently as I shook her.
“What‟s wrong,” she moaned, “I just got to sleep?”
“I have to go see Allwain and you have to get up and make sure no one goes into my room.”
“All right, what‟s with the outfit; what‟s happened,” she said rubbing her eyes and getting out of her bed.
“I‟ll tell you later, right now I have to go.”
I still didn‟t have shoes on so I slipped on a pair of Kate‟s slippers that were beside her bed, hopping as I quickly put them on. Simon was in the hall and I‟d never been so glad to see anyone.
“I have to get to Allwain, right now.”
“Quinn is on duty just outside, he‟ll go with you,” he said as he rushed with me down the hall.
“Simon, while we were gone, was anyone guarding our rooms?”
“No, why would we guard empty rooms?”
“Of course,” I said shaking my head, “that was a silly question, I‟ll see you later.”
I rushed down the stairs. Quinn was just outside the entrance leading to the courtyard.
As I blew past him he called to me “Katrina, what‟s wrong?” he said as he ran to keep up with me.
“I have to see Allwain; something happened to me in my room tonight.”
We rushed across the courtyard, past the library and down the hallway leading up to Allwain‟s laboratory and quarters.
Before I could knock on the laboratory door it slowly opened.
“Katrina,” cawed the mina. “Katrina‟s here.”
Neither the Elves nor Allwain slept much so I was sure they‟d be here.
Allwain came out of the back carrying baskets full of herbs.
“Katrina, you look upset, what‟s happened. Did you have a vision.”
“I wish that‟s all it was,” I explained further. “I went to bed and fell right to sleep; but sometime later I was sent through some kind of portal into an underground cave system, where I met a Keltan.”
Allwain‟s eyes widened and his face lost all of its color.
“A Keltan? Are you sure Katrina?”
“Yes, very sure.”
“What‟s a Keltan?” Quinn inquired.
“Not what, who. Keltans are an ancient race; long believed to be extinct,” Tao said as he came into the room; carrying a large worn leather bound book.
“Ah Tao, thank you,” Allwain said as he accepted the book and placed it on the counter in front of us and started combing through its fragile pages.
“He told me that he‟d isolated himself over a hundred years ago so evil forces couldn‟t persuade him to help them. He was speaking to someone when I arrived. I don‟t know how, but he seemed to be standing in front of a simple wash stand.”
“It must have been a skrying pool. Elves have used them for thousands of years,” Tao said showing no emotion as usual.
“Here it is,” Allwain said as he found the right pages in the book. “Keltans: powerful dual beings; that is to say, two separate consciousnesses sharing the same mind and body. In the beginning they simply worked in unison, one resting while the other assumed their duties. It says here that they had powers similar to a succubus, which enabled them to pull powers out of beings and also extract the very essence from any living thing.”
“He told me they; whoever they are; wanted him to take my powers so that they could use them for their evil plans.”
“Of course!” Allwain exclaimed as he continued reading, underlining each line with his long gnarled fore finger as he did. “They could store the powers in either of their beings or another or in any object of their choice.”
“He could take Katrina‟s power and put into another being?” Quinn asked.
“Yes, or use it himself.”
“Or store it in a jar or anything else he chose, if he wanted to hide it,” Tao added.
“Have you used your gift since you got away from him?”
“No, I had no time, he told me to get out of my room immediately upon my return or “they” might be able to pull me through the portal again. He also said I couldn‟t go back to my room until you checked it and found the object they used to open the portal. So when I got back I came straight here.”
“So concentrate now. What do you “see”?‟
“I see Father, Mother, Damien, the girls…”
“All right, can you call with your mind?”
I closed my eyes. “Damien, are you there?”
“I’m here, are you all right?”
“Yes, but…”
“I’ll be right there.”
“I’m at Allwain’s”
“Everything seems the same, Damien‟s on his way. I scared him I think.”
“Good, I mean that he‟s coming and that you could still talk to him I mean,” Quinn said.
“What else did this Keltan tell you?”
“That even after all this time he wasn‟t in total control of the evil within him, but he was trying and he couldn‟t join us until he was sure the evil wouldn‟t dominate him.”
“You charmed a Keltan?” Allwain laughed, and then shook his head in amazement. “He sent you back with all your powers and a pledge to join us if he can?” Again, he shook his head in disbelief.
“I sensed both the good and the evil in him, but if we could find a way to help him, we need to because my instincts tell me he‟d be a great asset.”
“Once again you have turned someone who was to be used against us into an ally, amazing, truly amazing.”
The door flew open and Damien rushed in.
“She‟s all right Damien. She seems to handle anything that they throw at her with ease,” Allwain said as Damien came to my side and embraced me.
“Since you‟re here, I‟ll be leaving. I‟m sure you don‟t need me now,” Quinn said to Damien as he pushed by us.
“Quinn….”
“Let him go, he‟s just frustrated again; he‟ll be all right,” Damien whispered.
“Katrina can fill you in later; right now I need to get all the girls out and Tao…”
I didn‟t wait for Allwain to finish. I raced at Vampire speed back towards our rooms.
“Simon, get the girls out,” I called from the stairs.
Seconds later I arrived, how stupid could I be, they probably were in danger too!
“It‟s all right, we‟re fine. Kate got us up as soon as you left, what‟s going on?” Rosa asked.
“Yah, we just got to sleep,” yawned Letta.
Damien came in right behind me.
“Allwain is gathering supplies for divining the portal object and whatever else he needs. He‟ll be here in a few minutes. Is everyone all right?”
“Yes everyone‟s safe, now tell us what‟s going on,” said a perturbed El.
I repeated everything that happened to me, including what Allwain knew about the Keltans and what was in the book. I left out the kiss of course; there was no reason to tell them that.
“What did this Keltan look like anyway?” Kate asked.
“Long, dark almost black hair and beard, piercing blue eyes. He looked twenty, although now I know he‟s a little older than that, over a hundred years older.”
“You didn‟t say if he was handsome or not,” Rosa said.
“Leave it to you to want to know that,” I sighed. “It was hard to tell with all that hair, and I was a little preoccupied after all.”
“I‟m here ladies, I think you should go and sleep in the guest quarters, it wouldn‟t hurt for Damien and Eric to do the same; at least until I can check all of your rooms thoroughly.”
“What about Gerhardt?” El asked.
“He was sharing quarters with his father who‟s been here all along, so I think he‟ll be fine.”
“Our invisible friends may have been the ones who placed the portal. They didn‟t know you wouldn‟t be here for a while. Go now and let me do what I need to do,” he said shooing us out, “you rest and I‟ll see you tomorrow.”
“I‟ll go and wake Eric,” Kate said with a big smile beaming across her face.
“I‟m going over to my father‟s quarters, I‟ll see you tomorrow,” El said.
The rest of us headed over to the guest wing on the other side of the ballroom. Those rooms were always ready for visitors and all of us were so tired now we really didn‟t care what they looked like.
I fell asleep in Damien‟s arms, and that‟s exactly where I woke. I was thankful for a peaceful, dreamless sleep for once.
“By the look of it, it must be nearly mid day,” Damien said as he rose and looked out the window. “By the way, I don‟t want to ever go to sleep without you by my side again,” he said as he turned back to look at me.
“Are you sure? I seem to be a walking magnet for trouble,” I said as I got up and put on one the sets of robe and slippers put in the room for guests.
Damien walked over and pulled me into his arms. “You‟re my life, without you….”
“Stop, I don‟t want to hear you talk like that. We don‟t know what the future holds. All we know is that we‟re here now, and every day we have together is a gift. A lot has been put on my plate, there will be times I‟ll have to do things on my own, and you know that.”
“That‟s something each of us will have to do. Just remember that we‟re all in this together to help each other, that‟s where our strength lies.”
“I know, and I‟m grateful for each and every one of you; but it‟s you that I love with all my heart,” I said and then kissed him. He wanted to protect me and I knew that wouldn‟t always be possible.
“Should we have some breakfast and then go see Allwain?” he asked as we parted.
“I think it‟s more like lunch and I‟m going to need something to wear.”
“I‟ll send Ivan,” he said as he walked to the door. “Ivan, will you please ask Sarah to bring Katrina something to wear?”
“Sarah will be fussing,” I laughed, “we just got back and already we‟re scattered all over.”
“We‟re going to have to make some different living arrangements anyway,” Damien said.
“You‟re right; we all need to be close by one another, but we also need more privacy now,” I said as I sat on the edge of the bed to wait for Sarah.
Just then someone knocked on the door.
“Sarah, that was fast,” Damien laughed.
“She was already coming up the stairs when I went to get her,” Ivan said with a chuckle.
“I brought you something to eat and drink and a clean outfit for both of you,” she said as she handed the basket of food to Damien.
He looked at me, surprise in his eyes.
“Don‟t look at me; she‟s always been a step ahead of everyone somehow.”
“Now, I spoke with your father about moving all of you to larger quarters this morning. This wing is not suitable, but he agreed that the north wing where Eric and Damien already have quarters can be made to work. If you wish I can take care of it myself,” she said as she unpacked all the things she brought.
“Thank you Sarah. That would be very helpful.”
“Fine, then I‟ll be on my way. Unless you need something else; I‟ve got work to do.” And off she went.
“She‟s really something isn‟t she?” I said as I ate some figs and made up a plate of food for Damien.
“That‟s such an understatement Katrina. In a lot of ways she‟s like you. She‟s taken everything that has happened and all her extra duties in stride like she‟d been doing them all along.”
“Come sit with me now and have something to eat,” I said setting the full plate of food next to mine on the small table by the window.
“Tell me more about this Keltan. I want to know how you persuaded him to send you back,” he said suspiciously as he buttered a piece of bread then added meat and cheese to it from his plate.
“Well his name, at least the one I spoke to, is Raven. His evil side wanted to keep me there, so I told him keeping me there meant he joined the evil, even if he didn‟t allow them get my power. Finally his good side took over and I convinced him to send me back.”
“You used them! You used their lust for you!”
“I did, and I‟ll not apologize for using whatever means necessary to free myself. Anyway, I really believe he could be the one Allwain talked about when he said „of those who join us, one will turn the tide in our favor‟.”
I ate some pastry while Damien sat silently for a moment, and then looked at me again.
“You‟re not jealous? Of the Keltan? Damien, you can‟t be serious?”
“Well, after all, he is twice the man I am.”
We both laughed.
“I didn‟t realize how hungry I was until I started to eat,” I said as I licked each of my fingers clean.
We washed up, changed and left to see what Allwain had found. As we approached the entryway, El and Thomas were having a heated discussion at the bottom of the stairs.
“I‟ll talk to them, I promise.” We heard El say as they walked away.
“I wonder what that was all about,” I said as we walked towards the library.
“I‟m sure she‟ll tell you when she‟s ready.”
It didn‟t take any time at all to get to Allwain‟s, the guest wing being so close by.
“Tao, Katrina‟s here, Tao,” cawed the mina bird.
“Katrina, Damien,” Tao said with a slight bow. “Allwain will be right out.”
Allwain followed by Valik, came out from the back room. He was shaking his head and mumbling to himself. “Tao, will you and Valik please prepare storage vessels. We‟ve decided not to destroy the portal devise. Actually it‟s quite an amazing piece.”
“What was it, can we see it, how does it work?”
“That‟s a lot of questions,” he chuckled.
“Portals have been around thousands of years of course. It takes a powerful wizard to make one that‟s this small and made specifically to send Katrina to the Keltan.”
He walked over to the counter; a waist high table in the center of the room, and uncovered the portal.
Damien and I were shocked, it was a pillow. Once I thought about it, I knew it was genius.
“It‟s a spell, a very complicated one, it must have taken weeks to perfect. There are of course, natural portals all over the world, but this one is very specific. They would have needed something from Katrina to make it work. A piece of clothing, something she touched, even a strand of hair.”
“Daniela,” Damien said sadly. “My mother must have visited just for that reason.”
I felt so bad for Damien and so glad I had taken care of her once and for all.
“So do you still think our invisible friends brought it with them?” I asked while still marveling at the object before me.
“I can‟t be positive of course, but because I have protected the castle, they would have had to find someone with access to physically place it where they wanted.”
“So they planned not only to gather information but to kidnap Katrina through this portal?”
“Yes, fortunately Katrina sensed them and thwarted their plans but unfortunately they were all killed before they could be made to tell us what they had learned. This portal was activated when it sensed that Katrina was in a very deep sleep.”
“Tao and Valik brought a box out from the back room and opened the top. Allwain took the pillow and placed it inside and closed the lid.
“Now take it into the back and later I‟ll seal it with a locking spell.”
Tao bowed his head in acknowledgement and he and Valik took the box away.
“Why not just destroy it?” Damien asked.
“Because, there may be a way for us to use it to our advantage. I‟ll take a closer look at it before I lock it up. If I can deduce the coordinates to the Keltan, that alone will make it worth saving.”
“What about what Tao said about the skrying pool? If Katrina can contact the Keltan she can keep encouraging him, giving him hope that we‟ll find a way to help him.”
“That‟s a good idea Damien, I‟ll work on that.”
I couldn‟t believe what I was hearing from Damien; it only made me love him more. He trusted me and was willing to let me do what I had to in order ensure we defeated the evil forces. I hoped I would handle it the same way if or when the situation was reversed.
“I love you,” I said without speaking.
He just gave me a wink.
“So, you found no other items serving as portals Allwain?”
“Only one other,” he said as he looked at Damien. “And this one might be as important as anything that‟s happened so far.”
“What are you saying, Allwain?” Damien said his voice full of tension.
“There is a portal object in your room as well, Damien.”
We were all silent. They wanted Damien and me. There was nothing good that could come out of that.
“We left it exactly where it was, not a pillow this time, but a silver picture frame face down on the dresser.”
“I didn‟t notice it last night. I was so tired I went right to sleep and it wasn‟t long before Katrina called to me and I haven‟t been back to the room since.”
“My theory; for what it‟s worth, is that Luena planned to use you as bait to trap Katrina, should the Keltan plan fail or to lure the others to their deaths trying to save you, should the Keltan be persuaded to take Katrina‟s power.”
“But now that you‟ve discovered the object, is it possible to use it to our advantage as well?” I asked.
“That‟s the hope, after we get done here, I‟ll examine it closely and I hope it will lead us to the location of their portal.”
“I think Damien had an excellent idea about the skrying pool. I have one in my quarters that we use to speak to our allies. Katrina you can speak with the Keltan to see if he has been contacted again by whoever asked him to take your powers. If he hasn‟t, possibly you could convince him to tell them you‟re still there with him and that he hasn‟t decided whether he‟ll take your powers or keep you for himself.”
“I‟m pretty sure Katrina could talk him into whatever she wishes.”
“Don‟t be so sure; the evil side of him is strong, not to mention cunning and very dangerous,” Allwain said.
“If I can give him some hope that we can help him dominate the evil within him, it might be enough to keep him on our side.”
“All right, while I‟m checking out the portals, I‟ll have Tao and Valik try to find something in my scrolls to help him.”
Raven
I knew just what I had to do. As soon as Katrina was safely away I locked the portal and rushed back to my rooms. Much to my surprise Durik was anything but combative, and knowing what was at stake he spoke to me calmly.

“You should let me talk to them, they will believe me.”
“If I could trust you, that would be an excellent idea,” I said as I prepared the skrying pool.
“Raven, she touched me too, there‟s nothing I wouldn‟t do to make sure that she lives.”
“You have your own reasons, I‟m sure.”
“Not all that different from yours, we share more than our mind, Raven. I felt your physical reaction to her.”
“For more than a hundred years, I have tried to save us, suppress the evil that possesses you, and now you expect me to believe that this young vampire woman has changed the way you feel about everything? And, that you came to this decision in less than an hour?”
“I do feel different, I‟m not saying I can promise you that I‟m in total control of the evil that over took me, but we‟ll have to work together if we‟re going to protect Katrina. That means you‟ll have to trust me.”
“You realize of course if you betray me, I won‟t be able to save us.”
“I know.”
We entered the back room and went straight to the skrying pool. Concentrating together we called Paris.

“What news Keltan?” Constantine said as his image became clear in the pool.
“We have Katrina, she arrived during the night.”
“I don‟t know why it took so long, this should have happened over two weeks ago, but it is good news. I‟m surprised to be speaking with you Durik, when I spoke earlier with Raven; he wanted no part of our plan.”
“Not so fast Constantine, Katrina is here, but we have no intention of giving either her or her powers to you, we plan to keep her for ourselves. This is the last time we will contact you; we‟ll be leaving soon.”
We ended our contact and started to prepare for what we knew would soon come.
 CHAPTER ELEVEN
Damien and I left Allwain so he could do his work and we could update the others. The Council was meeting this afternoon and making a decision on the envoy was at the top of their agenda.

“Before we join the others I want to talk to you alone,” Damien said as we walked past the library.
We naturally chose our favorite place, the flower garden, to have a private conversation. The summer‟s warm days and cool nights had successfully filled the gardens with all the colors of the rainbow. The soft wind was mixing their scents into an intoxicating perfume.
Damien turned towards me and took my hands into his. Looking deep into my eyes he spoke to my mind.
“I love you, nothing will ever change that.
“You‟re frightening me,” I said out loud.
“I‟m sorry, I didn‟t mean to, let‟s have a seat.”
He gestured for me to sit on the bench at the far end of the garden so we would have total privacy.
“The portal incident has made me want to talk with you about some things,” he said as he looked down trying to find the right words. Then he sighed and looked back into my eyes again.
“Katrina. If Luena is ever successful in capturing me, I don‟t want you to come looking for me.”
I frantically searched his eyes. What did he mean? Why was he saying this to me?
“I refuse to put you, and all you represent in danger to try to save me.”
“Damien….”
“No, this is how it must be. You‟ve always told me there will be times when you‟ll have to do things on your own. Luena has already used my loved ones to blackmail me into doing what I knew was wrong. I won‟t let her ever use me for evil gains again. Promise me if something should happen you won‟t look for me. I couldn‟t live with myself if anything were to happen to you because of me.”
My eyes filled with tears. I loved him so much, how could I do what he asked?.
“Promise me,” he urgently insisted as he squeezed my hands tighter.
I couldn‟t speak. I had to bite my lip so my sobs wouldn‟t escape. All I could do was nod my head in agreement.
He pulled me into his arms and let me cry into his shoulder. I knew he was right, now I hoped I never had to keep my promise.
Once I had composed myself, we left the gardens and headed to the library hoping to find the others, tell them everything Allwain had found and what we had decided about the Keltan.
We could see Rosa and Letta just ahead of us in the courtyard.
“Rosa, Letta will you join us in the library?” Damien said as we caught up to them.
“We‟ve been trying to find you, no one would tell us anything, and even Allwain was too busy. What is going on?”
“I‟ll tell you as soon as we‟re all together.”
“El and Kate are already in the library. El wants to talk to all of us about something.”
“What about Eric?”
“He went to the Council rooms to get Gerhardt, they should be there soon.”
“Where did you find them?” Kate said to Rosa as we entered the library.
“Actually, they found us,” Letta said as we joined them at the table.
“We‟ve been going crazy! Tell us what‟s going on.” Kate demanded.
“We have to wait for Eric and Gerhardt,” Rosa said.
“I want to talk to you about something first,” El said softly.
Was this about what we heard her speaking to Thomas about earlier I wondered?
“Go ahead El, what is it?” I said trying to put her at ease because she looked so nervous.
“Come on El, you‟ve faced our enemies over and over without batting an eye, it‟s just us, your family. You can tell us anything, you know that,” Rosa said encouragingly.
“I know you‟re right it‟s just…” She was ringing her hands and looking down. Then she took a deep breath in and said something none of us was expecting. “I want to change Thomas…well that‟s what he wants too.”
None of us knew what to say, she had talked about it when Gregor and Cedrik were killed and Thomas nearly died from his injuries, but to hear her say it out loud was quite a shock.
“We researched the special circumstances and we think….”
“El you don‟t have to convince us,” Kate said. “It‟s the Council that has to agree.”
“El, are you absolutely sure about this? I mean it‟s not like you can change your mind once it‟s done.”
“Has Thomas really thought this through, he‟ll outlive all of his family,” Letta said with concern.
“What about Gunter and his brothers, what do they have to say about this?” I said.
“That‟s kind of complicated. Quinn understands, Gunter is completely against it.”
We all went silent. This was something we really had to think about long and hard.
“I told Thomas that you would all have to agree and that he would need special training which would take months.”
“We have to take some time El. This is a big decision for us and for Thomas.”
“I understand, thank you all for being here for me.”
“That‟s what family is all about, right everyone?” Letta said and we all agreed.
“Good, here come Eric and Gerhardt. Kat, would you pleasetell us what else is going on?” Kate said impatiently.
“I told you most of it last night; about waking up underground and meeting a Keltan. Well it seems that I got there because a portal object was placed in my room, probably by our invisible friends. They planned for the Keltan to take my powers so that they could use them for their own evil purposes.”
Kate looked horrified. “We could have lost you, they almost succeeded,” she said her eyes filling with tears.
“I‟m fine and they didn‟t succeed,” I said patting her hand. “We‟re going to find a way to make all this work for us,I promise you.”
“They keep underestimating you Katrina. It must be very frustrating to them,” Eric said smiling and shaking his head.
“Well, we are supposed to meet Allwain again before the Council meeting. Any idea what decisions might be made regarding the envoy, Gerhardt?”
“I get the feeling from speaking with all of our fathers, that they would like to go ahead.”
“We should take a look at America and see if Allwain‟s potion has worked,” El said.
“That‟s a good idea, we could do that tonight,” I said as I stood, preparing to leave.
“Why don‟t we try it now, then we can share what we find at the Council. It may help them make the right decision,” Damien said.
“Since we‟re all together anyway that makes perfect sense.”
Everyone stood and formed a circle, joined hands and closed our eyes.
“Let‟s start with San Francisco.”
We concentrated for several minutes before the vision started to become clear.
“Show us vampires.”

“I don‟t know what‟s happening. I got word the entire clan was sick, several have already died including Carlo and Eldron. This, coming after the news that the brothers and most of their clan died when the Opera House burned to the ground, has everyone else very nervous.”

We recognized this vampire. It was Nathaniel, the leader of the faction that split from the San Francisco clan, now living peacefully in Vancouver.

“What of the cousins Nathaniel? What have you heard?” Someone called out from the crowd.
“Nothing, I‟ve no news and in my mind that‟s good. Maybe now we can live in peace without fear.”
The vision faded.
“We might as well take a look at Boston.”
I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes and concentrated on the house where we first saw the cousins.
As soon as the vision cleared I felt that something was wrong. There was no sign of the cousins, the house was neglected, but I didn‟t get the feeling that they were dead. We were shown no other vampire; at least that was good news.
“What is everyone feeling right now?”
“I feel apprehension,” Kate said.
“I do too and I don‟t know why,” added El.
“It must be because we don‟t know where the cousins are. I think we‟d have felt differently if they were dead,” Eric said.
We didn‟t know what it meant. Just that it couldn‟t be good.
“Let‟s meet back here after dinner,” I said. “We‟ll take a look at Paris; hopefully Allwain will tell us some good news.”
“All I know is that he sent word that it was safe to go back to our rooms and I want to sink into my tub and rest a little while before dinner,” Rosa said as we started to leave the library.
“That sounds good, let‟s go,” Letta said leading the way.
“I‟m in,” Kate said as she followed them out.
“I‟m going to see Thomas, I‟ll be there soon. Gerhardt, you can tell us what the Council decided later,” El said as we got outside.
“It would be my pleasure. I‟ll see you later then.”
“Damien, are you and Katrina going to council with me?” Eric asked.
“Absolutely, we‟ll meet you there.”
As we split up, each going our own way, Damien and I were left alone in front of the library. He turned and brushed the hair away from my face with his fingers, making my skin tingle just like the very first time he touched me.
“How are you, really?” he said as he pulled me into his arms.
“Tired, confused and part of me just wants to take your hand and run as far away as possible.”
“That‟s only natural,” he said smiling down at me. “Think about how much you‟ve already been through, all of which you‟ve handled without pause.”
I squeezed him tight and put my head on his shoulder. “I hope Allwain has something encouraging to tell us.”
“That would be nice, why don‟t we go and see him right now.”
He gently kissed me and we walked the short distance to Allwain‟s laboratory. I was getting used to the door opening before we could even knock and Tina, the mina bird announcing us.
“Katrina, Damien, I‟m so glad you‟re here. I‟ve ascertained the location of the Keltan from the portal and I want you to contact him now with the skrying pool. I‟ve set it up for us right over here,” he said as he motioned to the small table at the center of the wall to our left.
“It‟s important for us to know what he told our enemies.”
“What about helping him, did you find anything yet?”
“Not yet, but Tao is looking for something as we speak. Are you ready to speak with him again so soon, Katrina?”
“Yes, of course. I‟m fine.”
“I‟ve already prepared everything for you. All you have to do is call to him.”
“I don‟t know what to say?”
“Katrina, your instincts will tell you the right things to say, remember to trust them.”
I stepped to the pool and looked in. It looked like fog was covering the surface.
“Raven, are you there? It‟s Katrina.”
Suddenly the surface cleared and he appeared.
“I wanted to thank you. Tell you that I‟m all right and that I won‟t forget my promise to help you so that you can join me in my quest.”
“I‟m glad that you‟re all right…we both are.”
That shocked me, and it must have shown.
“Yes, Katrina, you not only touched me, but Durik as well. We‟ve been working together for the first time in over a century to try to help you from here.”
His face changed slightly and then I realized that the other side of him had come forward and I made a special effort to assess his true nature.
“Raven is right, we have locked the portal that brought you here, and told those in Paris that we have you and we intend to keep you for ourselves.”
He looked into my eyes and was silent for several seconds. As awkward as that was, I realized that he was letting me read him.
“Who did you speak to in Paris?” I asked him.
He knew I would know if he lied.
“Constantine. He is the wizard who is helping the evil clan there.”
“What can we do for you? How can we help, Durik?”
“There‟s no doubt they‟ll come here to try to take you. We‟re preparing a trap for them before we leave.”
Raven came forward again then.
“Even if they get by our trap, they‟ll think we escaped with you. I hope someday to be able to join you. I think that we have much to offer.”
By the look in his eyes I could see he really meant what he said.
“Until then.”
He nodded and then the pool fogged over once again and I turned away to see Allwain‟s angry face and Damien‟s surprised one.
“I had some idea who the wizard was that was helping them and now the Keltan has confirmed it.”
“You know this Constantine?” Damien asked.
“He was an apprentice of mine many years ago. Even then I knew he had evil tendencies, but I was very close to his mother so I overlooked a lot of things.”
“And now you feel betrayed; that‟s only natural.”
“I felt betrayed long ago. Now I just feel angry, very angry. I‟ll have to deal with that later. Right now there are other things to discuss. The Paris clan thinks they‟ve at least half succeeded, they think Katrina is still with the Keltan as his captive. That‟s an advantage, especially if we work quickly.”
“We‟re going to take a look at Paris tonight after dinner.”
“Let‟s not wait. The three of us should have plenty of power to see what we need to see.”
“Where they are and how many we‟re dealing with,” I said as both Damien and Allwain nodded their heads in agreement.
We joined hands and closed our eyes, slowed our breathing and asked to see where they were.
“Show us what we need to see,” I asked as I concentrated on Luena.
The vision was like we were running at full vampire speed down a narrow tunnel. It was dark and even with our vampire vision not easy to see. Suddenly the narrow tunnel started to open up.
The room was huge, ceilings of at least twenty five feet high. It glowed with a soft golden light for which I could see no source.
The room had several archways; some filled with skulls, and some obviously leading to other tunnels.
“The catacombs.” I heard in my mind from Damien.
Clan members started to enter from three of the arched entrances. They weren‟t wearing robes this time and seemed from the many voices and loud conversations, in total confusion.
The last one to enter was in a gray robe, followed by Luena and her mother Antoinette. I tried to assess the total number in the chamber and counted twenty five.
“Quiet everyone, we have news.” The only man in a robe called while holding his arms up trying to quiet the crowd before him. “We have succeeded in capturing the leader of the so called Five.”
Standing beside him, Luena had a huge smile on her face, satisfaction filling her evil aura.
The group clapped and someone called out. “When will we challenge the others so we can continue with our plans against the humans without interference?”
“First we must send a party to retrieve her from her captives. Once we extract her powers we‟ll be able to kill the others easily.”
“I will lead the party myself,” said Luena
confidently. “We‟ll meet again once I return with our prize. Both Mother and I relish the thought of extracting revenge for the death of our dear Daniela.”
I felt Damien tense, hearing of his mother‟s death was of course shocking.
The crowd started to disperse leaving only Luena, Antoinette and the robed man; who must be Constantine and three others, all men.
Concentrating hard on both their faces and their scent, I recognized them from the earlier vision of Luena‟s awakening.
“Durik told me they intend to keep this Katrina for themselves. Raven seems quite taken with her.”
“She seems to have that affect on weak men,” Luena scoffed.
Again I felt Damien tense, this time in anger.
“It‟s also good news that Durik seems to be dominating Raven at the moment,” Antoinette added.
“That won‟t matter if he escapes with Katrina; we must move quickly.”
“Why? She‟s out of our way regardless, the others can be picked off one by one,” said one of the men.
“Because we need her power and we will have our revenge,” Luena said bitterly.
“I didn‟t want to say anything to the entire clan, but we have had word from our allies in America. Almost the entire New Orleans clan was killed in a fire, including the brothers and Marie, and we have no word from Boston.”
“Something is terribly wrong. We will have no help from America I fear,” Antoinette said.
“Once we finish off our enemies here, that just means we‟ll have America all to ourselves,” Luena said. “But for now, let‟s just concentrate on the task at hand.”
“The Keltans locked their portal, it‟s taken me some time to reopen it, be careful but swift. We cannot allow them to get away with Katrina.”
“And the Keltans, what do you want us to do with them?”
“Whatever is necessary. If you can‟t persuade them to help us I don‟t want to take the chance that they might join the Five. Do you have everything that you need?”
“Yes we have our weapons and I plan to use a containment orb to both trap and transport her back.”
“She‟s protected against evil magic and possession, but since the orb is neither, it should work since the magic for both the invisible spies and the portal did.”
“Why hasn‟t the portal brought Damien to me? I‟d hoped that he could witness our plans for Katrina,” Luena said angrily.
“We can‟t track him as long as he‟s in the castle, but I think he either isn‟t staying in his room or someone else moved the frame portal. If he doesn‟t pick it up himself and look into it, it won‟t work, that‟s why I had it put face down.”
“I see, so when he went to set the frame back upright it would transport him, genius,” Antoinette laughed.
“It would be, if it had worked, but so far nothing, and I so wanted to taunt him with his love,” Luena pouted.
“No time to whine about that now Luena, you must go.”
Constantine and Antoinette walked with Luena and the three men over to a raised stone platform. As they stepped onto it Constantine raised his arms and chanted. “Portantia, optumata, assentomnia.” The four of them were surrounded by a brilliant white light and they disappeared. The vision faded and I knew at once we had to strike now.
“I was right not to wait; we learned so much,” Allwain said as he quickly walked back to the table.
“I’m sorry about Daniela,” I said to Damien with my mind.
“It was a shock, but now I’m relieved.”
“I….”
“Come, come you two; we have planning to do, quickly now,” he said motioning to us to pay attention.
As we joined him at the table he was busy looking through his ancient book of incantations.
“Damien go and get the girls,” he said without looking up.
“It‟s all right Damien, I‟ll call to Kate. “Kate can you hear me?” I said with my mind.
“I’m still in the tub; now what?”
“We’ve had a vision. We need all of you to get ready to go to Paris right away. Meet us at Allwain’s now.”

Damien and I were already dressed in training clothes and of course we never went anywhere without our weapons.
“Here! Here it is! This is what I was looking for,”
Allwain said excitedly.
“We‟re here, what‟s going on?” Kate said as they
entered the room.
“That was fast, good. All of you stand close
together,” Allwain said gesturing with his hands. He
took a deep breath and then slowly chanted. “Protection completion.” Then several words in an
ancient language we didn‟t understand.
I didn‟t feel any different and as I looked at the
others and they looked at me, I could tell they didn‟t
feel any different either.
“There, that‟s done,” Allwain said with satisfaction.
“I have just protected you against any magic without
your permission. Now let‟s discuss our plans for
Paris. Here‟s what we know. Luena has taken three
men to the Keltan‟s lair, where earlier the Keltans
told us they would set a trap for them.”
“They think I‟m still being held there and that the
Keltan‟s plan is to leave and take me with them,” I
informed the girls.
“We also know their numbers; about twenty five,
minus Luena and the three that went with her.” “And we know where the portal is,” Damien added. “How do we want to approach this?” Letta asked. “Why aren‟t we using the potion to protect the local
population?” El asked Allwain.
“It will take too long to implement, but we‟ll do it
later if we need to, although I‟m sure they would
scatter. Besides it won‟t work on the witches or
warlocks that have joined them.”
“So any ideas?” Kate asked, looking around at all of
us.
“I didn‟t see anyone else that was taking any kind
of leadership role. I think if we take out Luena, her
mother and Constantine; their wizard, the rest will
fade way,” I said.
“All right let‟s start with Luena then.”
“Damien, you use the skrying pool to distract
Luena. She must realize that the Keltan has gone by
now. I‟ll make sure the portal disappears. It‟ll still be
there, but I‟ll hide it and lock it from this side,”
Allwain said hastily making his preparations. “The Keltan said that they were setting a trap for
Luena and her group as well.”
“Yes, and we want to keep her from alerting
Constantine. We don‟t want him to be able to help
her. I‟ll have to take care of the skrying pool as well,
if the Keltan hasn‟t already.”
“Damien walked to the skrying pool and took a
deep breath.”
“Raven, can you hear me, it‟s Damien?”
“As the pool cleared Luena‟s face appeared. “Brother, if you‟re looking for your little girlfriend,
she‟s gone; they‟ve taken her with them.”
While Damien was talking to Luena, Allwain was
hiding the portal and locking it with his magic. “Actually,” Damien continued, “I just wanted to see
how you liked your new home since you‟ll be
spending the rest of your days there! Goodbye,
Luena.”
Her look went from smiling, to surprise and then to
desperation as the pool clouded once again. “The Keltan had already disabled the pool from
their side, making it impossible to call out. I‟ve
adjusted their spell so that we are now are the only
ones that can communicate by using it. The portal
was the only way in or out if the Keltan sealed their
secret exit after their escape.”
We knew that while this entombment would
contain Luena, it would not actually kill her.
Vampires will put themselves into a survival state
before they get too weak. Luena would go dormant, a
kind of deep sleep and remain in that state until she
felt in her subconscious that there was a way for her
to survive. For the time being at least Luena was no
longer our problem.
“We have two choices the way I see it,” Damien said
with determination as he turned away from the pool.
We can use the portal and get to Paris instantly or go
over land; watch them and take them out as we see
them.”
“Until we know more, using the portal is too risky.
We need to act cautiously to make sure that you
don‟t get trapped.”
Kate looked to me. “Katrina, if you show me what
you saw, I can find its exact location, which will be
faster than Allwain having to find the coordinates.” “Remember we still have the tablets Allwain gave
us so that we won‟t be seen. They‟re still effective,
right Allwain?” El said.
“Yes, and that‟s an excellent idea Eleanor, they
must have someone watching the castle.”
“So it‟s settled then; over land it is.”
“You can use the tablets that I just compounded;
they‟ll last longer; about four hours,” he said as went
to the shelf behind him and pulled down a jar and
removed its cork stopper. “I‟ll give you extras just in
case you need them, but one should be plenty
considering how fast you were able to overcome your
opponents in the past.”
He handed us each the first dose of the „invisibility‟
tablets and we put the extra ones in our pockets. “When we get outside of Paris, we‟ll see where they
are entering the catacombs and look for an alternate route. Once we find one, it will give us an emergency
exit if they cut us off from the main tunnel. “Why aren‟t we taking Gerhardt and Eric?” Kate
asked.
“It‟s safer for you if I have two of you I can send for
help if something happens, don‟t worry I‟ll explain to
them. Are you ready everyone?”
We all nodded yes.
“Remember, we won‟t be able to see each other
either, so use your other senses as we‟ve practiced,” I
said. “I‟ll take the lead, so stay in our usual fighting
formation.”
“All right, take your tablets with this enhanced
crimson, and here‟s a flask to take with you for your
journey, don‟t hunt.”
We looked at each other; why couldn‟t we hunt? I
shrugged my shoulders, it didn‟t matter, and we
trusted Allwain. We took the tablets with the crimson
he had given us. In seconds we felt full of energy and
our bodies started to fade from sight.
“Let‟s go!” called Damien. The door opened again by
itself and we ran out, up the two flights of stairs to
the top of the wall and easily jumped to the ground
outside to the west.
At full vampire speed it took no time at all to reach
our destination…Paris. This wasn‟t the way we had
envisioned our first visit here together, but then
everything in our lives was taking unexpected turns.
Six months ago we never could have imagined the
way our lives would be today.
“Is everyone all right?” I said as we stopped,
sensing that everyone was.
“Kate, show us the entrance to the catacombs that
they‟re using and let‟s finish this,” Rosa said. We held hands and Damien and I recalled the
vision we had earlier with Allwain.
“I got it! Let me find the entrance that they are
using, and then I‟ll look for another way besides for
safety‟s sake.”
We concentrated with her for a few more minutes. “All right I‟m done, now let‟s take a look inside from
here, I want everyone to see what I saw in case we
get separated.”
We could see the first entrance now; someone was
going through it so we followed them with the vision. The passageway was long and narrow; this person
ahead was obviously a vampire; their scent was
strong and it was apparent that they had no trouble
seeing in the pitch black passage way.
It took several minutes. The damp tunnel twisted
and turned, always leading us deeper and deeper
underground, until finally we entered the same well
lit large chamber we had seen in the first vision. The atmosphere was oppressive. Evil was exuding
from every pore of the space. Ten clan members were
already in attendance.
“Ah, there‟s Antoinette.” One of them said. “What
news do you have for us?”
“Nothing yet I‟m afraid, but Constantine should be
here any time now. I can feel that Luena is all right, I
just don‟t know why it‟s taking so long. She should
have been back by now.”
Kate showed us the alternate way out and now that
we were all familiar with that exit, we could
individually find our way out if need be.
“We‟ll meet right back here when we‟re done; let‟s
go,” I said.
The main entrance was located down by the river;
it only took seconds to get there. We watched as men
and women slowly began filing in. We waited a few
minutes after the last one had silently slipped into
the dark passage and then we followed.
No one seemed to notice as we crept into the
chamber. We circled the room staying close to the
cold stone of the walls. I felt uneasy; a sick feeling of
dread washing over me. Something was definitely not
right.
Just then someone charged from the tunnel
entrance directly across from me.
“Run!” Constantine yelled as he threw a ball of light
into the middle of the stone floor. Everyone ran for
an exit as fog started to fill the room.
We instinctively ran to block the exits. This was
exactly why we had spent so many hours in sensory
training.
“Find Constantine,” I told Damien with my mind. It felt like energy was bouncing off of me. I didn‟t
know what it was, but clan members came towards
me trying franticly to get out of the chamber. I drew
my sword and slashed at them with deadly accuracy,
easily ending their evil existence. Now I wanted
Antoinette; she was one of the main leaders of this
evil.
“Where are you Antoinette?” I said to myself as I
tried to find her with my senses. She was racing
across the chamber toward the portal.
“Oh no you don’t!” I said under my breath as I
raced after her.
Just then a man ran between us. I unsheathed my
dagger and threw it. There was I high pitched scream
as the recipient tried to grasp the weapon now
protruding from the back of his neck. As he fell I
tried to find Luena‟s mother once again. A bright
light filled the room and I was sure the portal had
opened and she and Constantine had probably
escaped.
The room suddenly cleared and standing on the
portal platform was Allwain. He and Constantine
were battling each other with their powers. I could see the energy between them pulsing as first one and
then the other was forced to retreat.
Antoinette was in a sword fight with someone. . .
Damien! Bodies littered the floor of the chamber, a
few had gotten out; but I wasn‟t worried about them. I reached out with my senses and found the strong
auras of my group. Satisfied that they were safe
within their invisibilities, I turned back to the fight. “What should we do?” I heard Kate call.
I don‟t know, I don‟t know,” I panted back. Just then I heard a cry and saw Antoinette‟s body
fall to the ground, her head followed with a thud, a
lifeless stare coming from her eyes.
“Get out now!” Allwain yelled.
Constantine‟s laughter echoed around the stone
chamber.
“You‟ve become weak Allwain, you can‟t win. But
don‟t worry I‟ll take care of the Five and their
friends.”
Just as he made a motion that threatened to defeat
Allwain, pushing him to the ground in preparation of
the final blow, he stopped in mid strike, his arm
extended. A strange look came across his face and he
started to glow. Brighter and brighter he became and
then as if hot coals erupted from within in his body
he burst into flame.
“Letta!” I thought to myself as the man continued
to burn.
He was screaming now and I could see his flesh
melting. The smell was horrible, its acridness,
stinging my nose and my lungs. It was so much
worse than the New Orleans Opera House fire, where
at least we were outside.
The extreme heat that Letta was using consumed
his now fleshless skeleton completely within
minutes, at the end leaving only a small pile of gray
ashes smoldering at Allwain‟s feet.
There was movement in the room and by scent I
could tell it was Rosa going from body to body
ensuring that the vampires stayed dead by
decapitating each of them in turn.
“Thank you Letta, where ever you are,” Allwain
said. “Constantine had grown very powerful; it may
very well be that I am indeed too old for these
things.”
“Nonsense,” I laughed. “You‟re still in your prime;
now let‟s get out of here.”
“Let‟s use the portal so we can get back instantly,”
Allwain said as he rose. “Then I‟ll permanently
disable this side. Come stand close to me on the
platform.”
As we crowded together a bright light surrounded
us as Allwain opened the portal and we were
instantly standing once again in Allwain‟s quarters. “Let me get you an antidote for your invisibility. I‟d
like to be able to see each of you again.”
We followed him out of his room and into the
laboratory.
“Tao, we‟re back, where did we put the visibility
potion?”
We watched as they both looked through the many
bottles and jars on the shelves behind the counter
until Tao finally found it.
“Ah, here it is thank you Tao. Now if you will please
go to my quarters and seal the portal in the
catacombs thus preventing anyone from following us
here,” he said as he poured a small amount of blue
liquid for each of us. “Drink up, it won‟t take long,
you still have time to get to the Council meeting if
you hurry.”
The liquid tasted like anise and I grimaced as it
burned all the way down, but it also cleared my
sinuses of the evil stench of Constantine‟s burning
flesh, for which I was thankful.
“Wow that was strong,” I heard Kate say.
I heard El cough and soon I could see everyone
start to reappear.
I immediately looked for Damien. As he appeared I
saw a large gash, although already healing, on his
right cheek.
“What happened?” I said as I went to him and ran
my finger across the quickly fading wound.
“I hesitated,” he said as he kissed my fingers. “She
didn‟t.”
I understood; I hugged him and kissed his cheek,
the wound now all but a memory.
“Good!” Allwain said as he looked around at the
group, you‟re all back. I‟ll send word to Fredrik to
hold the Council together until you are able to take
your places. That will give you a chance to change.
Tao rechecked each of your rooms and removed the
portal frame from Damien‟s room. You‟ve been
exceedingly successful at your mission. I can‟t tell
you how proud I am of each of you! Well done! Well
done indeed!”
“We‟ll consult with you after the meeting then
Allwain, thank you for everything you‟ve done.”
Suddenly I was exhausted.
As we got to the courtyard Damien gave me a quick
kiss. “I‟ll see you in a few minutes at council.” Across the courtyard I saw Thomas. As he
approached he appeared anxious. It was then I
remembered our earlier discussion with El. “Thomas, we just want you to know that we will all
do what we can to help you and El if you‟re both
absolutely sure becoming one of us is what you
want,” Rosa said as we got closer. “Are you sure,
Thomas?” she asked.
“It‟s not going to be easy, you realize that right?” I
said.
“I love El and she loves me. I can‟t stay on the
sidelines, helplessly watching and waiting anymore,”
he said as he stepped closer.
“It would be a while before you‟d be able to help
anyone,” Kate said as she walked past them. “You‟ll have to have months of intense training.
The change is painful, the bloodlust is debilitating,
and you put everyone around you in danger. You
would have to cut yourself off from your own family
for almost a year, eventually watching them die of old
age while you stay young,” Letta said as she too
passed by.
“Allwain said he could help,” Thomas said, pleading
his case. We‟ve really thought this out,” El
interjected, looking to me for support.
“Well then,” I sighed, “The next step is to speak
with our fathers and get a sense of what the Council
might say.”
“Gerhardt and Kale will have to agree as well, they
are on the Council now too,” Rosa added.
“We need to get changed,” I said as I followed Kate
and Letta past them and towards the stairs to our
rooms.
“I‟ll talk to you later,” El said to Thomas giving him
a kiss and a hug goodbye.
“You smell like blood, what‟s happened?” Thomas
said angrily.
“There‟s no time to talk about it now. Like I said, I‟ll
see you later,” El said pulling herself forcefully away.
Thomas shouted after her. “You can‟t just walk away
from me like this, I asked you a question. What
happened?” El continued walking leaving Thomas
fuming on the pathway. I looked at the other girls,
this wasn‟t good. We had to talk about Thomas‟s
attitude.
Just then Sarah came out to the courtyard. “Girls hurry, your baths are getting cold and I want
you to eat something before you go,” she said as she
gestured with her arms for us to come along now. “You don‟t have to tell us twice Sarah, we‟re
coming,” laughed Rosa.
“Thomas, tell Quinn that I‟d like to speak with him
later please,” I said giving him a dirty look.

“Bless you Sarah,” I said as I stuffed a sweet roll into my mouth. We were all starving as usual and so tired. Then all at once the enormity of what we‟d just accomplished really hit home. Our emotions rushing to the front, we just stopped and looked around at each other.

“We did it!” Kate said. “We really did it!”
We jumped up hugged each other and let tears of relief flow. We were laughing and crying. Maybe for a
while we could have a normal life, whatever that meant.
Later, as I sank into my bath, when calm came over me. I thought about Damien and how he‟d lost half of his family since all of this started. While I knew in my heart that Daniela was evil and his sister was a source of many of the ills around our home and more, I just couldn‟t imagine accepting everything that had happened the way he had. I wanted to do something special for him, but right now I had to go to council and tell them the latest news.

“You have to put something decent on Katrina; you will be dining with important people tonight after the meeting.” She went on to elaborate, “Everyone will be there because most will be departing tomorrow after all.”

“Sarah, I want to ask you something.”
“Of course Katrina, you can ask me anything, you know that,” she said as she continued to look through the new dresses.

“Was anyone in and out of our rooms while we were gone?”
“Valik was in and out and has been in and out again today, other than that only Allwain.”
“What would Valik have to do in our rooms while we were gone?” I wondered; something I‟d have to ask Allwain about later.
“What do you want to wear; it‟s warm today, something sleeveless perhaps. There are still several new gowns here that your mother sent over, most of which you haven‟t even looked at. Look at this one, it‟s lovely, what do you think?”
“I think it‟s perfect.”
It was light sage green, floor length iridescent silk, sleeveless with a V neck and very low cut in the back.
“There‟s even matching slippers,” Sarah said gleefully as she held them up to show me.
She pulled my hair up and back, nothing too fussy, but added a few fresh daisies.
“Stunning,” she pronounced, standing back hands on the hips and tears filling her eyes.
“What‟s wrong Sarah?”
“You‟re all grown up and so beautiful.”
“You‟d think you had never seen me in a gown before,” I said as I gave her a hug.
“It‟s different now, since you got back the five of you are different.”
“What do you mean, different?”
“Well there‟s a glow emanating from each of you, you‟re all even more assured, confident and beautiful. Soon you won‟t need me at all,” she said as she wiped at her eyes.
“Is that what this is all about? You‟re as much a part of my family as anyone. I‟ll always need you Sarah.”
I hugged her again and then sent her to check on the others. That wasn‟t the first time I‟d heard that we seemed different since we returned from America and I did feel different. I put on the beautiful ruby filled filigree heart necklace that Damien gave me for my birthday and headed out the door.
Our Watchers were waiting in the hallway and by the looks on their faces I would say we looked pretty good.
“You can close your mouths now boys,” Rosa laughed.
When we got to the Council chamber most of the business had been completed; they were just waiting for us to tell them about our raid against
Constantine and his followers and what we had seen in our visions from America.
Quinn was standing beside Damien and Eric just outside the door and as we got closer, I saw the same looks on their faces that we had seen on the Watchers; open mouthed wonder.
“You all look very handsome,” I said.
“The five of you together…well there just aren‟t words,” Eric said.
“You all may be the protectors, but whose going to protect the males of any race from you?” laughed Quinn.
“Well thank you, that‟s so very kind of you,” Rosa said batting her eyes and feigning shyness. “Now let‟s get this meeting over with so we can enjoy our evening.”
“Damien, I need to have a word with Quinn before I go in, I want you to tell the Council what happened anyway.”
“All right Katrina, Quinn,” he said as he turned to enter the Council room with Eric and the girls.
“What‟s up Kat?”
“I want to talk to you about Thomas. Today I saw a side of him I had never seen before and it concerned me.”
“What do you mean, tell me what happened?”
“He was talking to El like she was a procession of his or something, very demanding like a bully.”
“That doesn‟t sound like him at all. I know that he‟s frustrated, all the Watchers are. We feel so useless these days.”
“Nonsense, your job as Watchers is to protect us from humans by watching and making sure that they mean us no harm, and you do that job very, very well. There will be times when even Damien or any other vampire that joins us won‟t be able to help us. We have to do some things on our own, together or separately and that‟s the job that you, Gunter and Allwain have trained us to be able to do.”
“You‟re right; I know that, it just doesn‟t make it any easier.”
“I guess that‟s what worries me about Thomas. In his current state of mind there‟s no way I would agree to change him, not for El, not for any reason.”
“I understand why he wants that. I would give anything to spend hundreds more years with you.” he said stepping closer. “What do you want me to do Kat, just tell me?”
“Just talk to him, he needs to slow down. We are to go with Eric to help his father; we‟ll speak of it again when we get back.” Then I turned to go. “Oh and Quinn you can tell Thomas for me that if he ever talks to El like he did today, I‟ll personally make it my job to see that he never sees her again.”
His eyes widened in surprise of my tone.
“Don‟t worry, I‟ll take care of him. I‟ll tell Gunter.”
Then he smiled and as usual. The mood lifted and I had to smile back, he was still my Quinn.
When I entered the Council rooms and joined my sisters, Damien was still telling the Council everything that had happened and what we had seen in our visions. When he was done, Father sat back into his seat and sighed.
“You have completed the task that was set before you. There will always be threats; we elders know that more than anyone, but in this moment our world is safer because of your fearless union; we thank you for your service.”
The entire room erupted in cheers and applause.
“In light of this news,” Father said holding up his arms quieting the joyous crowd. “I see no reason to delay; the envoy will leave tomorrow. Meeting adjourned.”
We all clapped this time. I felt so many things, pride, relief and happiness.
Father smiled at Kate and me and gave us that wink of his. “Elizabeth has the reception area ready for us so let‟s start our celebration there, shall we?”
We enjoyed champagne and received thankful greetings from all of our friends and family.
“Katrina, Katherine.”
“Mother!” we said in unison, giving her a big hug when she finally reached us.
“I couldn‟t get close to you until now; how are you? I see you are wearing some of the dresses I had made for you and you look stunning. Promise me we‟ll have lunch together so you can tell me everything. I never get any time with you anymore.”
“We promise,” we said together.
She gave us each a kiss on the cheek and left to be the great hostess she always was.
“Hun Lee, Chan, how nice to see you again,” I said as they approached us.
They bent kissed of our extended hands, first one and then the other.
“We wanted to tell you….” Chan started to say as he looked into my eyes.
“You wanted to tell us what, Chan?”
“I‟m sorry, forgive me your beauty distracted me for a moment.”
“I was thinking the exact same thing,” said Hun Lee as he looked at Kate.
“We just wanted you to know that if you ever need our help in any way, please don‟t hesitate to ask,” Hun Lee said.
“That‟s right, as you know our resources are vast. Hun Lee is a great scholar and both of us are willing to do whatever we can to help.”
“That‟s very generous of you both, and believe me I won‟t hesitate to take you up on your generous offer should there be a need.”
“Regardless, we both would like to extend an invitation to all of you to visit our lands and experience all the wonders that they have to offer.”
“Thank you again, we look forward to it; don‟t we Kat?”
I was studying Hun Lee with all my senses. He was important I felt and I needed to get to know him better.
“Actually, Hun Lee, if you have some time before you leave for home I‟d like to speak with you about a few things?”
His face brightened and he smiled. “Of course. I would consider it an honor, Katrina.”
“How about tomorrow morning? We could meet in the library, after breakfast perhaps?”
“Absolutely, I look forward to it.”
“Good, now if you‟ll excuse me, I see some others we need to speak with.”
Damien and Eric were speaking with Kale and Rosa. Even from a distance I could see what others had meant when talking about us. Rosa, although always gorgeous, did have a glow about her, and if someone had told me that there were three more handsome men in the room than Eric, Kale and Damien, I wouldn‟t have believed them.
“Glad you could drag yourselves away from your adoring fans,” laughed Eric.
“Yes you certainly seemed intrigued by Hun Lee and Chan,” Damien added.
“Actually I am. They offered their help if ever there‟s a need and also issued an open invitation to visit them in their homelands.”
“Should I be jealous again?” Damien asked.
“I just think that we could learn a lot from them, especially Hun Lee.”
“Kale has offered his help as well,” Rosa said wrapping her arm around his and grinning from ear to ear.
“Thank you Kale, we all felt you would be a great asset to us. We also hope that we won‟t need help from anyone; at least for a while, but we‟ll definitely be ready. And like I told Chan and Hun Lee, we won‟t be shy when it comes to asking for help if we find it necessary.”
“Well I want you to know that my offer is sincere,” he said with a slight bow.
“Thank you Kale.”
“All right everyone, dinner is served,” Mother said loud enough to be heard above the crowd.
It was after eight in the evening now; the
candelabras filled the two story dining hall with their golden flickering light once again. Tonight Mother had used roses in creams, white and light peach to fill the tables. Silver chargers and goblets accented the cream colored china embossed with our family crest.
“Once again mother…..just lovely,” Kate sighed.
“Thank you Katherine. We‟re all so proud of you. I wanted to make it special. I‟m so glad you like it.”
We could hear a piano playing Mozart in the background, it was just perfect.
“Everyone looks so happy, no tension for a change,” whispered Kate as we walked over to take our seats.
“Except for El, look,” I said as I nodded in El‟s direction.
“She looks upset, and so do her parents.”
“She must have said something to them about Thomas; we‟ll have to talk to her later. After hearing and seeing Thomas‟ behavior, I have my doubts about their relationship as well.
“He gave us such a bad feeling earlier didn‟t he?”
Father rose, “I‟d like to make a toast.” He stood at the head of the large table and said to those seated before him. “To our children now grown, to a legend fulfilled and to a peace reclaimed - I salute you all.”
“Here, here!” everyone chimed in, raising their glasses.
“Damien, do you have anything that you would like to add?”
“Yes Fredrik, as a matter of fact I do.”
“Thank you all for all your trust, patience and support. It‟s been an amazing journey; one that now leads us onward and into a new land. Nothing would make me happier than to enter into the next chapters of my life with Katrina as my wife,” he said as dropped to one knee. “Katrina, will you marry me?”
He pulled a small box from the pocket of his coat and opened it. Inside was a very large cushion cut blue diamond. Everyone gasped and held their breath for a moment.
“I will,” I said leaning down and kissing him, tears rolling down my cheeks.
He slipped the beautiful ring onto my finger. “I love you,” I said without speaking.
“Always,” he replied.
The dining hall erupted with applause and I could see that the girls and Mother were all were in tears.
“Now it‟s a double celebration,” laughed Father. “And I wish to make another toast. To Damien and Katrina.”
 CHAPTER TWELVE
Well Durik, at last you‟ve overwhelmed that peace loving side of you. Now we‟ll make some real progress with our plans.”
“Unfortunately, Raven let the girl go, but if it wasn‟t for her, I couldn‟t have convinced him to let me come forward.”

“Don‟t worry about her, I still have some people inside her circle willing to help me, but you might have warned me ahead of time, Damien‟s ploy frightened me. I really thought it was possible that I was trapped here.”

Durik‟s eyes narrowed. “They think we sealed all the tunnels out, but we have a secret passageway that we‟d hidden just in case we ever had to escape and didn‟t want anyone to be able to follow. Then we can head back to Paris to decide how we want to proceed.”

“You deceived them. I love that about you Durik,” She said, her laugh echoing off of the stone walls and down the corridors.

“Luena, I can‟t channel Constantine or Antoinette,” said one of her accomplices. “And the skrying pool is of no use.”

“It‟s probably because we‟re so far underground; nonetheless let‟s hurry. The four of us can travel fast even while carrying Durik.”

The five of them headed out; Luena, her three henchmen and Durik.
“Let them think that I’ve been defeated,” thought Raven from the background. “I’ll stay back and wait for my chance. I won’t ever let them harm Katrina.”

After dinner everyone gathered around to offer their congratulations and of course the girls couldn‟t wait to see the ring up close.

“We‟re so happy for you both,” beamed Father. “When Damien came to ask our permission, our first thought was that you were too young, but he assured us that it would be a long engagement since you wouldn‟t marry until he returns from America.”

I tried not to look shocked; we‟d never discussed it, so I just smiled and nodded in agreement.
Damien‟s father Petrovich and step mother Margarite were very gracious. I could see pride once again filling his eyes as he spoke.
“Welcome to our family Katrina, we couldn‟t be happier, really.”
“Thank you both I‟m very proud to be joining your family.”
Then it hit me, Father had said that the envoy would be leaving tomorrow. Damien was leaving tomorrow! I looked up at him and he smiled back at me.
“What’s wrong?” he said to my mind.
“You’re leaving me tomorrow, I can’t believe it.”
“Let’s start saying our goodnights so we can have some time alone.”

“Will you excuse me please? I need to speak to El before we leave. Damien, I‟ll see you in a few minutes.”

“El wait, what‟s wrong?” I said as I hurried to catch up with her.
“It‟s….my family,” she sobbed. “They‟ve forbidden me to ever speak of turning Thomas again.”
All I could do was hug her.
“I‟m so sorry El, we‟ll figure all this out, don‟t worry.”
“What‟s happened?” Letta said as she and Rosa came over.
“I think we should take El back to our rooms. Rosa will you get Kate and tell everyone thank you please? Letta and I will walk El back.”
“I‟ll take care of everything here and meet you back home in a few minutes,” Rosa said.
“Damien, El’s so upset. I’ll be delayed a little while,” I said with my mind.
“All right,” he replied, sounding so disappointed.
We got El home and all changed out of our formal clothes and gathered around the fireplace.
“I‟m so sorry Katrina. I never meant to spoil your evening.”
“Don‟t worry about that. El, I know you‟re upset now, but I really think it‟s for the best to go slow with this, there‟s no need to rush. There will be plenty of time.”
“None of us was against turning Thomas if that‟s what you both truly want,” Kate said consolingly.
“But when we heard the way Thomas spoke to you today, I can‟t say that we‟re not having second thoughts,” Rosa said with concern.
“He‟s just frustrated…”
“Don‟t you dare make excuses for him! Anyone that‟s involved with any of us has to understand who we are,” Letta said angrily. “Today he showed a total lack of respect and that can‟t happen again.”
“I told Damien that there will be times when we have to do things on our own and he‟ll have to deal with that.”
“Thomas has me feeling like I did when I was fifteen and the girls at boarding school would pick on me.”
“El, for crying out loud, you‟re one of the chosen protectors now, you know that‟s not right!” Rosa said now really mad, we all were.
“If we turned him now, with his attitude he‟d become evil and then our choice would have to be to…”
“That would be devastating to all of us, he‟s like our brother,” Letta said.
“I don‟t know what‟s come over him; he was never like this before,” she sobbed.
“I think you need some space. Remember Allwain wants you to go with Eric to try to help his father?” Kate said. “That will give you both sometime apart to think clearly.”
“That‟s right and we‟re all going with you, I know I don‟t want to go back to Paris any time soon, does anyone else?”
“NO!” They all said at once.
“So since the envoy is leaving for America tomorrow, we might as well go with Eric to the sanctuary as soon as possible.”
“If we‟re all in agreement then, I‟m going to give Damien a proper goodbye. I‟ll see you all tomorrow.”

The morning was a beautiful one and Damien and I went for a long ride before breakfast. Nulla and Theo were full of spirit as we hadn‟t ridden them for weeks. We laughed and raced. It felt wonderful to feel the wind blowing through my hair and the warmth of the early morning sun on my cheeks.
It made it easier to put aside the fact that Damien was leaving today. When he smiled at me nothing else mattered. I could block out the whole world if I had to.

“Promise we‟ll speak every day,” I said with my mind as we walked the horses through the forest.
“I promise, but once you get inside the Sanctuary it may not be possible. As I recall, Allwain said that they have a way to block communication like ours.”
“Well I don‟t care. If I have to leave the protections of the Sanctuary to speak with you I will.”
When we got back to the stable Damien brushed Theo gently, taking his time and talking to him in a low calm voice. I could tell he was going to miss him. The big black stallion nuzzled him as if he knew they were about to be separated.
“I‟ll take good care of him Damien.”
“I know you will,” he said as he patted Theo‟s neck.
When he turned to me, I couldn‟t help it, tears filled my eyes and I had to force myself not to break into sobs. Some big bad protector I was.
“I‟m sorry, I didn‟t mean to cry. I just can‟t help it. I don‟t want you to go, please Damien don‟t go.”
“Katrina, it‟ll be fine, we made sure of that remember? The others can make decisions about the clans, I want to decide what will be in our best interests and I can‟t do that from here. As soon as I do, I‟ll be home I promise,” he said as he pulled me into his arms and held me tight.
I didn‟t know why I was so upset, so I just took in his scent to try to calm myself. Without even thinking I bit his neck and drank. He winced, the pain of course shocked him, but I didn‟t care. The next thing I heard was moaning, first from Damien and then from me.
It took all my inner strength to make myself release him. Now the pain was mine, ending the connection between us and the pleasure of his sweet, salty blood covering my tongue and slowly coating my throat with his essence seemed cruel.
That pain ended and a new pain awakened all my senses, but was soon replaced by a new pleasure as well. A sensual one and a wanting that couldn‟t ever be filled by anything else.
I could tell that he too had a hard time stopping himself from drinking, but he did. He pulled back slightly and gazed lovingly into my eyes and kissed me passionately. When that too ended, we looked at each other once again.
“I miss you already.”
“I’m right here.”
As we slowly walked across the entrance courtyard we could see the whole area was bustling with activity. Wagons and coaches were being packed and were ready for either departures home or to the port.
“Good morning Damien, Katrina, beautiful day for travel isn‟t it?”
“Good morning Philepe, how is everything progressing?”
“Very well I think. We should be ready to depart by noon.”
“So soon?” I thought.
“I‟ll have some breakfast and then come back and help you, until then Ivan will assist you in any way he can.”
As usual I didn‟t see Ivan, but knew he was always somewhere close by.
Once we were in the dining hall it was hard for me to feel the excitement that exuded from Eric and the girls about our trip to the Sanctuary. All I could think about was Damien‟s trip and how much I didn‟t want to be parted from him.”
“What do youthink Katrina?” Kate asked.
Everyone was looking over to me now for a reply and I had no idea what they were talking about.
“I‟m sorry, what do I think about what?”
“About our leaving tomorrow.”
“Of course, that sounds fine.”
“Allwain was all excited this morning, he has something to show us and he wants everyone to see him after we‟re done eating,” Eric said.
“That‟s good, I‟m supposed to meet with Hun Lee in the library anyway. I wanted to ask him a few questions.”
“Well let‟s go then, I think we‟re all finished here aren‟t we?” Damien said as he stood and waited for the rest of us.
We headed down the connecting inside hallway, past the library and into the one leading to Allwain‟s laboratory.
“Morning, morning,” cawed the mina as the door opened for us.
“Good, good you‟re all here!” Allwain said excitedly as he scurried in and out of the preparation room.
“Tao, please bring the pouches.”
Tao followed Allwain out of the back with his hands full of leather pouches.
“Why it is that Valik is never anywhere to be found when we‟re so busy I‟ll never know,” Allwain grumped as he came across the room.
That reminded me that I needed to speak to Allwain alone before I left.
“We‟ve never seen you quite like this before Allwain, what is it?” I said.
His excitement was contagious and we were all waiting with full anticipation to see whatever he was about to show us.
“Look! Just look!” he said as he dropped a small red tablet into a cup and then added water.
As it started to dissolve my acute sense of smell picked up what it was immediately.
“It‟s blood!” I exclaimed.
“Enhanced crimson to be exact,” Allwain beamed proudly.
“It‟s genius Allwain, pure genius!” Eric said in amazement.
“And that‟s not all,” he giggled, practically jumping up and down. “It will turn water into crimson yes, but if you don‟t have water you can also just dissolve the tablet on your tongue, it‟s equal to sixteen ounces of enhanced crimson. A full two-day supply if you‟re not fighting or running all day. If you are, of course you may want more.”
“So you‟re saying if we can‟t or don‟t want to hunt, we don‟t have to?” Rosa inquired.
“Or say if we‟re traveling across an ocean perhaps?” Damien said holding up the cup to his nose.
“And no storage is needed?” El said.
“Now I can see why you‟re so excited Allwain, this changes everything,” I said marveling at his accomplishment.
“As you know we already have vampire chemists throughout the world. Once we establish them in America they‟ll always be available.”
“What about safety, can they be tainted?”
“We would still need and want to use blood from your own Watchers. I recommend that each clan have their own chemist that will supervise the making of the tablets himself. Since I am your chemist, I have made you enough to take on your trips and I have waterproofed these pouches to keep them dry.”
“You think of everything Allwain,” Letta laughed as Tao handed out the pouches.
“Damien, I‟ll give you a sack full of pouches for those going to America with you. Oh, I almost forgot, since you‟ll be on the ocean, I‟ll give you some other tablets that will take the salt out of sea water. I also want you to take this small bottle with a leather strap so you can wear it around your neck, that way, if the ocean gets too rough you can put both tablets inside and keep them close to you; it‟s just a precaution.”
Without being told, Tao fetched the desalinating tablets from the back and placed them on the counter as well, and Damien placed them in the sack Allwain had provided.
“So I think that‟s all, does everyone have everything that they need for now?” Allwain looked at us, his eyes crinkling in thought.
Having just heard what we did, his comment made us all laugh.
“Yes I think we do, you‟re amazing Allwain, thank you again.”
“I‟m sure you all have things you could be doing,” he said briskly as he shooed us out, “call me if you need me.”
We did, so we gathered up all of our pouches, tablets and bottles and headed for the door, except for me that is.
“Allwain, I need to speak with you in private if you don‟t mind.”
“Of course Katrina, Tao has preparations to make for your trip as well, don‟t you Tao?”
“I do, so I‟ll see you tomorrow Katrina.”
“Yes tomorrow, thank you Tao.”
“Goodbye Tao,” cawed the mina as he exited the laboratory.
“Now what is it Katrina?”
“Why would Valik have been in and out of my room while I was away in America?”
Allwain‟s eyes widened and I could tell he was surprised by my comment.
“What makes you think that?”
“Watchers weren‟t watching our rooms while we were gone, but Sarah was and she saw him go in and out several times.”
“I never would have suspected him of any wrong doing,” he said as he looked down and shook his head in disbelief. “But that‟s exactly why it would make him the perfect plant. Thank you Katrina, I‟ll have him closely watched don‟t worry.”
“There‟s something else that I‟m curious about. Why didn‟t you want us to hunt anywhere around Paris?”
I wouldn‟t put it past Constantine to put something in the water for animals like we did for humans. While I could test the water around here to protect you, I couldn‟t do the same for the waters around Paris and I just didn‟t want to take any chances.”
“That makes sense. I‟ll leave you then, see you tomorrow.”
I walked out and down the hall to the library. Hun Lee was already waiting when I arrived.
“Thanks for meeting with me,” I said as I joined him at the table.
“As I told you, anything I can, I‟m willing to do.”
“What I‟m going to tell you has to stay between us.”
“Of course, thank you for trusting me.”
“When we were in America we had a vision. The man in the vision alluded to the Five being a legend of the original peoples living there, can you tell me anything more about the legends and prophecies of the Five than I already know?”
He smiled. “When I heard the protection ceremony had been performed and the elders speak of the Five, I immediately sought out every piece of history I could find on just that subject. I also went to see one of the oldest known vampires in existence, Fang Cho. It seems the Five are also mentioned in ancient writings in Asia and Africa as well.”
“It‟s a human prophecy right?”
“Yes, basically each one that I‟ve uncovered so far states that the Five will be called together at the time of greatest need and all peaceful powers will be called to aid them.”
“What exactly to you think that means.”
“Well, you‟ve already experienced some of it. Allwain was called to help you and the powers in America were called as well. The best advice I can give you is where ever you go, don‟t be afraid to center yourselves and ask for help.”
“Thank you Hun Lee, now there‟s one more thing and this may surprise you. I encountered a Keltan a few days ago. I won‟t go into detail for now. I just want to know if you can tell me anything about them I can use if I encounter him err them again.”
“Well you‟re right. I am surprised since they have long thought to be an extinct race. What specifically is it that you want to know?”
“Everything that you know. Is there any way to help the….how shall I put it…good side of them or to change the evil side of him? Can you kill one side without killing them both?”
“Ah, I understand,” he laughed. “I‟ll tell you everything that I know and research them further for you as well.”
As I looked across the table at him he looked so much more regal than I remembered. His black hair was longer and it was pulled up in a knot behind his head today. His light brown eyes had a playful glint; I‟d always thought of him as so serious. I wanted to get to know him better, I thought.
“Keltan‟s,” he said as he shook his head in amazement.
“He told me that he thought he was the last of his race.”
“The evil ones that we‟re fighting hoped that he would take your powers from you.”
“Yes,” I said not looking away when Hun Lee searched my eyes as he waited for me to tell him why the Keltan hadn‟t taken my power. When I remained silent, he finally he just smiled again and looked away seeming to understand.
“To start with, no, you can‟t kill one without killing the other. You may be able to help suppress his evil side, but it‟s more likely you would be able to change that side of him permanently if you could spend enough time with him. I should say that would be true of any adversary. It‟s a power that you always possessed, but that has been enhanced many times over, since the five of you were joined.”
“If I come up against the evil in him, is there some way to help his good side overtake him?”
“Hmmm, you‟d need to distract him,” he said with a mischievous grin on his face. “I‟m sure the five of you could think of something.”
I had to laugh. “You‟re right, I‟m sure we can. One last thing. How does his power work, what do we need to avoid.”
“He can‟t use his power from a distance; he‟d need to embrace you fully.”
That’s why he didn’t touch me when he kissed me, I thought to myself.
“If he should take your powers there are several things he could do. He could keep them to use himself, store them to use later or give them to someone else. He could of course give them back to you as well. Our adversaries chose him because he can‟t be controlled with spells or potions. He is, however, flesh and blood and can be killed. Oh, and he‟s strong but not fast.”
“He was in seclusion, because he didn‟t want evil forces to use him like they used the rest of his race. He spent all that time trying to get in total control of Durik, his evil side.”
“It is the classic battle really; many fight the evil within themselves.”
“That‟s true enough. Thank you for speaking with me today, it‟s been very helpful.”
“You‟re more than welcome, Katrina. I‟ll continue studying the prophecies for anything else that might be important.”
Suddenly I had an overwhelming feeling and knew that I had to trust it.
“Hun Lee, I know this is sudden, but would it be possible for you accompany us on a journey?” I paused, “One that actually leaves tomorrow?”
“A journey to where, Katrina?”
“To Sangustae.”
His eyes opened wide with obvious shock, he was dumbfounded; and then he suddenly stood.
“I must inform my father that I will not be traveling home with him because I must serve the Five.”
“Good, we leave at dawn.”
He bowed slightly and then turned to leave. I quickly followed. I wanted to spend as much time with Damien as possible. I found him barking out orders and loading provisions. We only had a few more hours now before they would leave and I felt panic filling every part of my being.
“Damien can you take a break, there‟s not much time left before you have to go.”
“Ivan, I‟ll be back, see to my things will you?”
We walked arm and arm to our favorite spot in the gardens. My stomach ached and my heart was racing, why was I so apprehensive?
“Don‟t go,” I said and immediately burst into tears.
“Katrina….” he said as he held me close and rubbed my back.
“I know, I know, I‟m sorry, I don‟t mean to do this every day, it‟s just that I thought that we‟d be going back together.”
“You have things you have to do and so do I. I plan to make as many arrangements on this trip as possible so when we do go back together we can just finalize things and start our new life together as man and wife.”
“You‟re right, and that sounds wonderful. I‟ll just have to keep myself busy.”
He laughed, “Maybe you could knit me a sweater.”
He kissed me and I wanted it to last forever. We spent every last second together, but finally Ivan made his presence known and we knew it was time for him to go.
I watched him get into the coach with Philepe, Ricardo and Michael and already felt totally alone.
“Goodbye my love, I miss you,” I said with my mind.
“I’m right here…always.”

As most of the Council members and guests were also leaving, it would be quiet tonight. I decided the best thing for me to do was to train. Rigorous training had always centered me. It helped me focus and concentrate on the task at hand and that‟s just what I needed right now.

As I got closer to the training grounds, I was joined by Rosa who had just said goodbye to Kale and obviously had the same idea that I did.
“Need a distraction too, Rosa?”
“Yes I do and as I haven‟t killed anyone in a whole day, I thought I should work out.”
We laughed, I was so grateful I had her and all my new sisters around, it really helped.
Quinn and Simon were practicing with long swords when we arrived. It was hot and both had removed their shirts. The sweat glistened on their tanned, well muscled bodies and their musky scent filled the air.
“I‟m feeling better already,” Rosa said as we watched.
“Me too, maybe we should watch for awhile longer, we might learn something.”
Look, there‟s El. El over here,” Rosa called waving her arms over her head.
She saw us, waved back and started to walk over to join us.
“You‟re in a good mood, what‟s up?”
“I was just over at Gunter‟s checking in on Patty.”
“How is she, is the baby all right?” Rosa said concern filling her voice.
“Take it easy, everything‟s fine, and they‟re all settled in the larger house Katrina‟s father had built for them. There‟s an adorable room just for the baby, a lovely new kitchen, sitting room with a fireplace and bedroom with a nice view of the garden.”
“That sounds wonderful, I almost hate to ask, but how is Thomas,” I said not sure that I wanted to know the answer.
“Gunter had a long talk with him and for now we agreed to leave things as they are. And I told him I need this time to myself.” She smiled and seemed happier than I‟d seen her in days. Rosa and I were relieved as well.
“Are you three just here to watch or are you going to work out?”
“We‟d like to watch a little longer if you don‟t mind Quinn.”
All three of us laughed and so did Simon and Quinn. In a few minutes we could see Gunter striding up the path and knew we‟d better get serious.
“Ladies.”
“Gunter, we were just waiting for you.”
“Well here I am, let‟s start at the beginning shall we, it‟s been awhile.”
He worked us hard for two hours, it felt so good.
“Good work you three, when you see Letta, Kate and Eric at lunch, tell them I‟m waiting for them.”
“We will. Thank you, Gunter.”
“Oh and Eleanor, thanks for coming to see Patty this morning she and I really appreciated it.”
“It was my pleasure Gunter. We can‟t wait until the baby comes! Isn‟t that right girls?”
“That‟s true Gunter; there won‟t be any shortage of baby sitters around here.”
“I can tell you if it‟s a boy or a girl if you‟d like,” El said coyly.
“You can?”
“Well if you want to wait and be surprised that‟s all right, I understand. We should go to lunch right everyone?” she said turning her back to Gunter and winking at us.
“That‟s right we should go,” I said as we all started to walk away.
“Wait, wait, I never said that. I really do want to know,” he pleaded.
He sounded just like a little boy he was so excited.
We turned back around and then laughed. The three of them had gathered around us and looked like they couldn‟t wait a second longer.
“Well if you‟re sure?”
“Yes, yes I‟m sure, come on Eleanor.”
“It‟s a……..BOY!”
“They hooted and hollered and hugged each of us. The noise was so loud Thomas and Avery came running, swords drawn. When Gunter told them the news, the celebration started all over again.
“We should celebrate tonight. Let‟s have a fire, dance a few jigs, play some games, how about it? Quinn said grinning from ear to ear.
“That sounds great, but we‟ll need to make an early night of it.
“I almost forgot, you‟re leaving again tomorrow aren‟t you?”
“Yes, but that‟s tomorrow, let‟s have some fun tonight,” El said gleefully, clapping her hands.
“I‟m starving; we‟ll see you tonight then.”
We met up with the others including Hun Lee in the smaller family dining room just off the kitchens.
“Sorry about the smell, but we were too hungry to wash up and change,” El said as she sat down next to Letta.
“It‟s all right, we‟re used to it by now,” Kate laughed.
“I want to thank you all for letting me be a part of your group. I so look forward to all I can learn on this journey.”
“It‟s not something we let you do Hun Lee. You were chosen to make this journey for some reason and we‟re glad to have you. You‟ll be a great addition and I personally am looking forward to all that I can learn from you,” Eric said.
“What did your father say when you told him you wouldn‟t be traveling back with him?”
“He was proud and very honored that you asked me to join you, as proud as I am.”
“Oh, by the way, Gunter wants the rest of you to work out this afternoon and he and the brothers have invited us to a celebration gathering this evening.”
“Sounds good, what are we celebrating?” Kate said as she finished her soup, wiping her lips with her napkin.
“El went to see Patty this morning and….” “She and the baby are fine and it‟s a….boy!”
“That‟s fantastic; they all said it would be,” Letta said.
I ate everything that they put in front of me, a great vegetable soup, bread, fruit and a piece of freshly baked crumb cake.
“Now I can go take my bath and rest a little,” I said as I pushed away from the table fully satisfied.
“I guess the rest of us better go and see Gunter before he comes looking for us,” Eric laughed.
Sarah of course had a bath ready for the three of us, plans for larger quarters could wait, we were perfectly happy here.
“There,” Sarah said very pleased with herself. “I‟ll let you soak for a while and then I‟ll be back to wash your hair.”
“Thank you Sarah, that‟s my favorite part.”
“I know, now just relax and I‟ll see you in a little while.”
I closed my eyes and let the warm soft water embrace me. The scent of roses and lavender filled my head reminding me of this very morning and how much I had enjoyed my time in the garden with Damien.
“Damien, are you there?” I called with my mind.
“I’m here my love; we’re just resting the horses and having some lunch.
“How long will it take you to get to the port?”
“About three more days I should think. How about you, how long a trip is it, has Allwain said?”
“No, but when Kate first arrived she told us it was a long one.”
“I’ll speak with you again tonight.”
“All right, I love you Damien.”
“And I Love you Katrina.”
I was glad we were going to the gathering tonight, it would keep my mind occupied. I looked at the beautiful ring on my finger; it sparkled in the sunlight making faceted reflections on the wall just like a prism casting rainbows of color.
I didn‟t need Damien, I wanted him. I wanted him so much.
“That‟s enough, no more feeling sorry for yourself,” I said out loud.
Sarah came in humming and her smile made me feel safe and happy.
“I can‟t believe how long your hair has gotten and I swear it‟s thicker than ever too.”
It felt so good to have her wash my hair and it helped me totally relax.
“Did you hear the news? Gunter and Patty are going to have a baby boy? El saw Patty this morning to make sure that she and the baby were all right and found out. She told Gunter after our workout and he was soexcited.”
“That‟s wonderful Katrina; a new generation of Watchers.”
“I never thought of it that way, but yes of course you‟re right.”
“What are the five of you up to this afternoon; what would you like to wear?”
“Just a clean training outfit I guess, Kate and I told Mother we‟d come to see Father and her today.”
“I‟ll help you finish packing tonight before you go to bed. I know you‟ll be leaving early.”
“Actually now that I have had a little time to think about it, I‟m excited to be going. I hope that El can help Eric‟s father.”
“If anyone can, it‟s her and she‟ll have the rest of you to help her after all.”
“Our powers are even stronger since we returned, that should help.”
“I have everything ready for you right here on the bed. Here‟s your towel. I‟m going to fill tubs for Letta and Kate and check on Rosa and El.”
“Thank you Sarah, I‟ll see you later.”
I dried myself off, dressed and headed over to spend some time with my parents. Avery was at the bottom of the stairs.
“Are both my parents in Avery?”
“They just came back from a walk in the gardens.” “Good, I want to spend some time with them before I leave tomorrow.”
As I passed him I stopped and looked at him.
“I bet you haven‟t stopped smiling since you learned about the baby being a boy this morning have you?”
“Nope, Gunter and Patty told us that they plan to name him Gregor Cedrik Voss.”
My eyes immediately filled with tears and the look on Avery‟s face turned from one of happiness to one of concern.
“I‟m sorry Katrina. Don‟t be sad, this is a happy time, one to celebrate. No one misses Gregor and Cedrik more than I do and I know they‟d be so proud of you and happy for Gunter and Patty.”
“Why is Katrina crying? What‟s happened now?” Quinn asked as he approached.
“It‟s my fault. I told her about the plans to name the baby after our brothers.”
“Oh that was nice; she‟s already had a rough day Avery,” Quinn scolded.
“I‟m sorry, I didn‟t think about it that‟s all. I was just still so excited.”
“Just go and stand in front of the Baron‟s door, I‟ll see to Katrina.”
“It‟s all right Katrina, let it all go,” he said as he pulled me into his arms.
I sobbed and did just what he said; I let it all out. I gripped his shirt in my fists. I not only wanted to cry, I wanted to scream! Quinn just held me tight and rocked me back and forth until there were no more tears.
“Here,” he said as he handed me his kerchief. “Blow your nose and let‟s go for a walk.”
He kept his arm around my waist as we walked out the front gate and down the path towards the lake. We got to the shore and Quinn let go of me, picked up a stone and skipped it across the smooth water, just like when we were kids.
“That‟s all you‟ve got, four skips?”
“I‟d like to see you top it, at least I‟ve been practicing. You‟ve been gallivanting all over the world. All I‟ve heard lately is, Katrina this and Katrina that,” he said, then smiled that same smile that both made me laugh and want to tackle him and make him say uncle.
“I‟ll take that challenge.”
I picked up a smooth flat stone and skipped it seventeen times.
“Oh sure, use that whole vampire thing.”
We laughed and I remembered why he was so special to me. MyQuinn, that‟s what he would always be.
We took our boots off and walked along the shore letting the cool water wash over our feet and ankles. The surface of the water shimmered and pairs of swans paddled along the shoreline just across from us.
“Thank you Quinn, this is just what I needed.”
“Thank you for what, being your friend just like I‟ve always been?”
We stopped and faced each other. Quinn took both my hands in his.
“We‟ve always been there for each other, and that‟s never going to change.” He raised my hands to his lips and kissed them.
“You‟re right, that isnever going to change.”
“So, are you ready to go back now?”
“I guess I really did want to spend some time with my parents before I leave tomorrow.”
“I still don‟t understand why I can‟t at least go some of the way with you.”
“It‟s just not allowed, you have to realize that humans are the reason the other races had to go into hiding in the first place.”
He scowled and I knew he was frustrated again.
“How long will you be gone this time?”
“I‟m really not sure. Mother should be able to give me a better idea.”
After putting our boots back on we took our time getting back.
“I‟ll see you tonight at the gathering right?”
“Of course, I wouldn‟t miss it.” As the path turned we saw Kate up ahead.
“Kate, wait up.”
“There you are. Do you want to go with me to see Father and Mother and have some dessert?”
“That‟s where I was going; we haven‟t had any time to spend with them at all.”
“How was your work out anyway?”
“It was great, Hun Lee was really into it as well and Gunter was quite impressed with his abilities.”
“That doesn‟t surprise me. I‟ll bet he‟s good at everything he does. He‟s going to be a great help to us. I know that or I wouldn‟t have been so compelled to ask him to join us. Hello Avery, it‟s all right I‟m fine now.”
“I‟m glad,” he said as he opened the door for us.
“What was all that about?” Kate said after we got inside.
“Nothing, I‟ll tell you later.”
“Girls, how nice,” Father said. “Elizabeth, Katherine and Katrina are here.”
We had a dessert and spent several hours talking about nothing and everything, it was nice to be a family again. Our nice long chat took us well into the late afternoon when Mother decided that a nice family dinner would be just the thing. We sat on the balcony while we ate and spoke of our upcoming journey.
“Can you tell me how long it‟ll take for us to get to Sangustae Mother?”
“Tao is as fast as you are and you won‟t have wagons to slow you down. So depending on how much you stop, less than a week I should think.”
“That‟s good news; I thought it would take much longer.”
“I have letters of introduction for you. I want you to meet with the Supreme Council. They will be curious of course and I want you to assure them that the powers that be have chosen wisely.”
“It is ironic that one of the very races that humans fear so much and try to eliminate was chosen to fulfill their own prophecy,” Kate said.
“It makes perfect sense if you think about it. Because we live so long, how could humans‟ possibly protect all the races when their life span is so short?” Father said.
“Well humans probably only thought of race as just different nationalities of humans. To them the universe revolves around them, it‟s always been so,” Mother said as she finished her custard. Now, as much as I love spending time with the both of you, rumor has it that there‟s a celebration for Gunter and Patty tonight; so you better be on your way.”
“We‟ll see you off in the morning,” Father said as we rose from the table to leave.
“I‟ll give you those letters I mentioned then,” Mother said as she kissed each of us goodnight.
Avery had been replaced by elite vampire guard who were always around anyway, but since the brothers had the night off, they made their presence known outside the door.
They never acknowledged us in any way, so we just walked by and down the stairway.
“Are you looking forward to going back to the sanctuary?” I asked Kate as we walked.
“I haven‟t been gone that long, so not really. It will be fun to show the rest of you around though. Mostly I just hope El can help Eric‟s father so they can be a family again. Now are you going to tell me why Avery needed to hear that you were all right earlier?”
“I just got a little teary when he told me that Gunter and Patty plan to name the baby Gregor Cedrik Voss.”
Kate stopped in her tracks and when she looked at me her eyes were filled with tears too.
“That‟s why I didn‟t want to tell you about it earlier.”
“It brings all the memories of that day right back,” she said as she wiped tears from her cheeks.
“I know, but Avery was right, this is a celebration of a new life and it does honor his brothers. Gregor and Cedrik would be happy for Gunter, so let‟s not dwell on the past anymore, all right?”
“You‟re right, I‟m glad you told me. I wouldn‟t want to burst into tears in front of everyone.”
“You mean like I did?”
She laughed and wiped the last of the tears away from her eyes. We started walking again and soon we could hear music coming from the training grounds.
“Everyone else was already there, sitting around a roaring fire, laughing and singing. When he saw us Quinn jumped up, grabbed my hand a proceeded to dance, forcing me to join him or become his rag doll. As he twirled me around, his blue eyes were twinkling in the firelight; his smile infecting me with the pure joy of life in this moment.
Soon everyone was dancing except for Gunter and Patty who happily remained on the sidelines, clapping and encouraging us all. We wore the boys out after a while, so cider and stories seemed like a good idea.
“Hun Lee how about it, you‟re a historian, there must be story you‟d like to tell us,” I said as we all sat down around the fire.
“Well, since you‟re the protectors, how about one about earlier protectors?”
“Earlier protectors, what do you mean?” Kate inquired.
“Yes, that does sound interesting, go ahead Hun Lee.”
“All right, let me just start by saying that you‟re not the first protectors, or even the first Royal protectors. The protectors date back hundreds of years in Europe, and thousands of years in Asia. In Europe, the first Royal protectors were Knights, sworn to protect King and country. Eventually they tired of fighting the same battles over and over as power hungry Kings sent them to take property and land from peaceful nations. So they joined together to form a society of Knights as protectors of the peace. Once there was peace in this land, they offered their services to any kingdom seeking peace.”
Hun Lee had everyone‟s attention. Of course we all had learned about the Knights, but we never thought of them in this way; it was fascinating.
“Once they gained the power and the adulation of the people, they created enemies as well. Peace after all, was not profitable. Foes they had defeated set out to rid themselves of the Knights, first, by starting rumors to discredit them and then by exposing and killing them whenever possible. Eventually the Knights had most of their own leaders killed and those that were left were forced to disband. And that would be the end of the story, except that both societies still exist. The Knight‟s formed a new secret society, the Masons and their foes became known as…..the Volator.”
After he finished he looked around at each of us. We all just sat there in shocked silence. They were the first vampire hunters!
“So you‟re telling us that the Knights, the Templar, were vampires and that ancient society became the Masons?” Eric said.
“Yes, of course not all of the Knights, or all of the Masons are vampires, but many are direct descendants of those first surviving Knights. Most human historians write that there is a gap of about five centuries between the Templar and the Masons. Our historians have no gap, because those original surviving vampire Knights still live.”
Again we were shocked into silence, not about their age, but that no one ever spoke of them, it wasn‟t in our schooling. And then I remembered something. “What you don’t know protects you,” I said.
Hun Lee shook his head. “Yes, very good Katrina.”
“I don‟t understand?” Rosa said looking around to see if anyone else did.
“It‟s from the prophecy, the one that foretold of the Five,” Hun Lee answered.
“Wow, Hun Lee that was amazing, I was thinking something light, like fairies,” El laughed.
“Fairies aren‟t all light, like any race they have a dark side as well. In fact theirs is very dark indeed,” he added.
“Maybe next time, right now I think that it‟s time that Gunter take Patty home for bed, and some rest is in order for the rest of us too,” laughed Rosa as she stood.
“Congratulations again Gunter, Patty, see you all in the morning.”
Thinking that I would help Sarah with the packing was silly, she, of course, had everything done. All I had to do was to get up and get dressed; I loved her.
I slipped on a nightgown and crawled into bed.
“Damien?”
“I’m right here.”
“How was your day?”
“Long and boring. I can’t tell you how much I miss you already.”
“If it’s half as much as I miss you, it’s a lot.”
“What were you up to the rest of the day without me there to keep you out of trouble?”
“I spent some time with Father and Mother and we found out the Gunter and Patty are going to have a boy, so we all celebrated. The brothers are so excited.”
“So El thinks the baby and Patty will be fine then?”
“Yes, and she teased Gunter for a little while, actually got him to plead to know the sex of the baby before telling him, that was fun. I got choked up when Avery told me they had decided to name him Gregor Cedrik Voss.”
“They would love that Katrina, don’t be sad.”
“I still miss them, that’s all.”
“I know, you’d better get some sleep, it’ll be dawn soon.”
“I love you and we’ll talk again tomorrow, all right?”
“I love you too, I’ll be right here.”

Sarah had to wake me. Groggily I washed and dressed. I practically lived in these training clothes these days. Lambskin leather leggings, long sleeved shirt, leather vest and high boots.

I tied my hair back, Sarah was right it had gotten long. As I looked in the mirror I could swear I was taller too.

“ Katrina?”
“Yes Damien, I’m up.”
“I just wanted to say have a good trip, be careful

and I love you.”
“Same to you, I’ll speak with you tonight whether
we stop or not.”
“I look forward to it.”
“What‟s for breakfast Sarah?” I asked as I entered
the candlelit common room.
“Oatmeal, fruit, sausages and toast with strawberry
jam.”
“That sounds so good.”
“I know, you‟re starving, you girls are always
starving these days, I‟ve never seen the like,” she
said as she chuckled and shook her head.
We all ate quickly. Everyone was excited and ready
to get started.
“Good morning, Eric, Hun Lee, I hope you slept
well,” I said as we joined them in the courtyard. “Good morning Katrina, Ladies. I didn‟t get much
sleep,” Eric said.
“Neither did I,” Hun Lee added. “I guess we were
both too excited.”
We had prepared our clothing in the same slings
that we used when we went to America. We also had
leather flasks filled with enhanced crimson and the
new tablets.
I brought the pouch with my silver bracelet as well
as all the things Allwain had given us for our earlier
trip. “You never know”, I thought.
“Everyone is ready to go, I see.”
“Yes Father, all ready. Good morning, Mother.” “Here are the letters I promised you, give everyone
greetings from me. Eric, I hope this is everything you
wish it to be.”
“Thank you Baroness.”
“Elizabeth, please call me Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth, thank you, I can hardly contain my
excitement. I can‟t thank everyone enough for all that
you‟ve done for me.”
“It‟s time to stop talking and start moving,” Rosa
said abruptly. She always was the direct one. “Tao, good morning, we‟re all ready, we‟ll follow
you,” Eric said. I could see he could hardly keep
himself still he was so excited.
I‟d never seen Tao in anything but robes. Today he
had a traveling outfit similar to the rest of us. I
caught Rosa‟s eye and I could tell we were thinking
the same thing; he was gorgeous. We had no idea he
was so well built.
As usual he didn‟t talk much, just gave a slight
bow of his head and started walking towards the
front gate. Quinn and his brothers were atop the wall
looking down at us.
“Be safe, we‟ll see you when you get back in a few
weeks,” Quinn called down as we passed underneath
the gate.
We waved goodbye and ran off after Tao. We
followed him east the entire day, not stopping once. I
had no idea where we were now or where he was
leading us, but I trusted him and I didn‟t sense any
danger.
Finally after fifteen hours Tao slowed.
“We‟ll rest here for a little while,” he said as he
dropped his sling to the ground and sat next to it. It was dark but of course we could all see just fine.
We were on what looked like a meadow with a lake
nearby and mountains in the distance.
“Tao, can you tell how much longer it will take?” Rosa asked while we ate some dried meat and drank
enough crimson to get us through another days run. “Two more days at full speed, and one day‟s walk,”
he said as he gulped down water and some dried
fruit and nuts. It didn‟t look like our rest was going
to last long. I‟d have to speak with Damien on the
run.
We raced through a valley with soaring mountains
on both sides and soon I realized that Tao was
deliberately taking routes that would confuse us,
making sure we couldn‟t find Sangustae on our own. As we traveled I spoke with Damien for a short time
each day because I had to concentrate on the rough
terrain to make sure that I didn‟t fall.
“We‟ll rest here, you can wash up in the river, have
something to eat and then we‟ll press on,” Tao said
as we finally stopped to rest.
This valley was lush and green but very narrow
and the mountains on each side seemed to rise to
the sky from the river. It was as if they had been
planted by the gods.
“Damien?”
“I’m here.”
“Where are you?”
“We just arrived at the port. Our supplies are being
loaded on the ship and we’ll set sail in a few hours.
Katrina?”
“I’m here.”
“I’ll be back before you know it. How’s Tao, still as
infatuated with you as always, I suppose?”
“I know you’re just trying to change the subject, and
since when has Tao even looked at me twice?” “You still amaze me Katrina, it’s you who never
notices the way men are when they’re around you;
unless of course you need to use that charm.” “As long as it keeps working on you, that’s all I care
about.”
“Oh it definitely still works on me. Say hello to
everyone, I’ll contact you tonight, I love you Katrina.” “I love you Damien and I always will.”
When I opened my eyes Tao was looking at me and
so I smiled and he just looked away. Oh he’s
infatuated with me all right, I thought.
I walked to the river and squatted down so that I
could scoop some water into my hands and wash the
dust off my face and neck. It felt so good. The water
was soft and cool having been filtered through miles
of rock.
I filled my empty leather flasks with water and
gathered with the others to eat.
We each used the tablets Allwain gave us to turn
the fresh cool water into enhanced crimson and
drank until we felt renewed.
I took out the pouch pinned to the inside of my
vest, opened it and pulled out the lovely silver
bracelet. I draped it over my left wrist, closed the
clasp, then ran my finger along the bottom of each of
the five charms that dangled from the delicate metal.
As I did, it reminded me that I loved my “bothers” as
much as they loved me.
When I looked up everyone was looking at me, and
then silently, one by one the other girls took out their
bracelets and put them on. Tao watched them and
then met my gaze. I used all my senses to try to “see”
what he was all about.
His features were so perfect; his long blond hair
tied back behind his head, the coolness of his blue
eyes framed by his light brown eyebrows and high
cheek bones and that tall muscular body, truly
perfection. But what about the inside? What went on
in that mind of his?
I did sense passion there and a true goodness,
along with honor and loyalty. Neither of us seemed to
want to look away this time.
“Katrina?”
“Yes, Eric?” I said now having to look away. “What news is there from Damien?”
“They‟ve arrived at the port and will be leaving later
today.”
“Well that‟s good isn‟t it, the sooner they get there
the sooner they can come back, right Kat?” El said in
her usual optimistic way.
“Yes, of course.”
“You don‟t sound very convincing, what is it that
you aren‟t telling us?”
“I don‟t know why, I just didn‟t want him to go.” “It‟s understandable, you want him with you,” Letta
said trying to make me feel better.
“We‟ll keep you busy Kat don‟t worry,” Kate said as
she packed up the rest of the food.
I felt so uneasy. I just wanted to start traveling
again. I looked back at Tao; maybe he was ready to
go. When our eyes met, his were filled with sadness. “Is everyone ready?” he said as he looked away. “Yes, let‟s go, we can‟t be that far away now are we
Tao?” Eric asked.
“We‟ll be walking now,” Tao instructed as he
addressed the group, “we must take great care, the
way is very treacherous.”
Where Tao‟s sadness had come from I didn‟t know,
maybe I would have some time to speak with him
when we reach Sangustae.
We walked up a small trail leading into the
mountains to our left. The narrow path was strewn
with rocks fallen from the steep peaks above us. As
we traveled upward, we noticed the air thinning and
it took even our vampire lungs a little while to adjust
to the lower oxygen levels.
As the path led us around to the back side of the
mountain, the lush valley disappeared and we could
see only peak after shrouded peak in front of us. We continually hiked down and then back up, clearing
the way of the fallen rock and boulders as we went. Just before sunset Tao stopped and just looked out
onto the shear gray granite wall of the mountain
directly across from us and waited.
As the sun dropped between the two peaks behind
us, a beam of sunlight illuminated what just
moments ago had looked to be a vast bottomless
chasm, onto a stone bridge pathway that would
safely lead us to the other side.
Tao walked silently over to it and started to cross.
We followed quickly and the closer we got to the
other side, the more we could now see a large vertical
crevasse coming into view. It had been hidden from
the other side by the angle of the pathway and the
shadow now abated by the setting sun.
We were led inside the mountain which sparkled,
the mica inside the granite reflecting the light now
glowing around Tao. Except for that light, we were in
total darkness and it took a few seconds for my eyes
to adjust. Once my vision sharpened, I tried to see an
opening, any sign of light further up the shaft, but I
could not.
Tao led us down the pathway which was high and
wide at the entrance, but became much narrower as
we continued back and forth on switchbacks first
upward and then back down. A cool breeze came
from ventilation shafts above us and water cascaded
down the smooth cold walls and into gutters chiseled
into the floor.
I continually scented and found several that there
were unknown, but I felt no evil intent so I put them
into memory and continued on.
Finally the path leveled and I could see light in the
distance. After another twenty minutes we exited the
mountain passageway and found ourselves on a
thirty foot wide balcony-like ledge, rounded across the front with wide stairways leading down on each
side.
Tao led us to the very front edge.
“Welcome to Sangustae,” he said proudly as he
looked first at us and then out and down.
What we saw amazed us. All we were now looking
down into a beautiful city carved completely out of
the sides of towering white granite walls. It went on
as far as we could see, twinkling with lights from
three and four story windows. There were open green
areas with trees, flowers and pools. It was magical,
just as Kate had described.
“It‟s beautiful Tao,” I said breathlessly as I
surveyed the wondrous sight below.
We heard horns blare in the distance
“That would be our welcome committee,” Tao said
as he gestured to a small group headed towards us. Tao headed for the stairway to our left.
“What do you think Hun Lee, is it all you
imagined?”
“I have no words to describe how I feel; I‟m
overwhelmed by the moment.”
I could see Kate embracing Eric. His face alight
with the knowledge that he was about to see his
father and mother for the first time in over a
hundred years.
Hun Lee and I followed Tao as he descended the
stairway, which was quite wide as they curved
around and down towards the city. Two hundred and
twenty-four steps later we were at the valley floor
and greeted by the committee we had seen from
above.
“Welcome Tao and all those entering with him in
peace.”
A crowd was gathering now behind the group of
four.
“Lord Korm, may I introduce you to …Katrina Von
Dracek, her sister Katherine, Rosa DiPalicio, Eleanor
Flanery and Letta Valdesio, Protectors of all the
races, the chosen Five and their comrades Eric
Wilheilm whose parents reside here and Hun Lee
Lui.”
The crowd gasped and whispered amongst
themselves, Lord Korm showed no signs of surprise. “As leader of the supreme council,” he said
formally, “I welcome you all, please follow me.” I was about to say something when Tao grasped
and squeezed my hand. As I looked over to him he
just kept looking straight ahead.
“Of course my Lord,” he said with a slight bow. Tao released my hand as soon as the welcome
party turned and started to show us the way. We walked through the center of the city until we
got to what looked to be a crossroad.
In the intersection was a raised round pavilion with
white marble columns that supported a copper roof
with ornate carvings all the way around its edge. As
we passed to the right of the pavilion, a beautiful
palace came into view.
It was carved into of a towering peak of pink
granite contrasting beautifully with the all white
granite that surrounded it. A grand staircase lit by
huge torches led my eye up the full five stories
stacked atop each other like a square wedding cake.
The upper level doorways each had cantilevered
balconies, and each of the forward facing corners
were adorned with stone carvings. As we got close
enough I could see large carved griffons stood guard
on each side of the courtyard at the very top of the
stairs.
As we started to ascend the stairway, horns again
sounded announcing our arrival. The closer we got to the top of the stairs the more beautiful the palace
became, simple yet elegant in every way.
The Moorish shaped doorways and entranceway
were each trimmed with white stone and filled with
stunning diamond shaped leaded glass that
shimmered in the light of the torches.
We finally reached the courtyard and as we did,
Lord Korm bowed formally to the right and the left.
Of course we were shocked as the Griffons bowed
their heads in return, then screeched and flew off
into the night, first circling and then landing on the
very top of the palace looking down at us like
Gargoyles.
I looked over at Kate and she was giggling, of
course she knew about them and was getting a big
kick out of our reaction.
Lord Korm stopped in the middle of the courtyard
and looked expectantly at the palace entrance. From
the ornate doorway came a beautiful Elven woman,
her white gown gracefully draping her lovely tall
frame. Her blonde hair was pulled back behind her
beautiful face and as she came toward us she
seemed to float rather than walk. Her entourage,
made up of other women in long white gowns,
followed. In their arms were baskets filled to the brim
with flowers. Lord Korm, his party, as well as Tao
bowed, so the rest of us bowed too.
“Tao!” exclaimed one of the young women as she
broke from the group and ran towards him. Lord Korm looked disgusted at the display, the rest
of us were just surprised.
She hugged Tao and then turned.
“I‟m sorry Mother; I‟m just so glad Tao‟s home.” “Please excuse my daughter‟s youthful
exuberance.” The woman in white said as she smiled. “My Queen,” Lord Korm said as he bowed once
again. “May I introduce our guests? I assume you
have letters of introduction,” he said looking at me. “Yes of course,” I said as I tried to remember where
I put them. Quickly, I pulled the letters from inside
my vest and handed them to Lord Korm. He stepped
forward and gave the letters to the Elven Queen. She smiled at me and then opened and read the
letter.
“Welcome, Katrina, Katherine, Eleanor, Rosa and
Letta as well as Eric and Hun Lee. I am Queen
Norah. I look forward to meeting with all of you. The
joining of the Five brings us hope for the future of all
our races. I wish to assure you that my kingdom will
do all that we can to assist you. Now I‟m sure you
would like to wash up and rest before you take on
your first task. Saolin, if you can tear yourself away
from your brother, would you please see to our
guests?”
“Of course Mother,” she said as she released Tao
finally and walked back to the others holding the
baskets. She retrieved bouquets and kissed each of
us on both cheeks as she presented them.
“Welcome all those who join us in peace,” she
pronounced when she finished.
“Thank you Queen Norah for your gracious
welcome, we look forward to meeting with you as
well.”
“There will be a dinner and welcome party for you
tomorrow evening. We will use the opportunity to get
to know each other better. I look forward to seeing
you all then.”
With that, we all bowed again and she and her
party turned and walked back into the palace. Saolin
also calmly took her leave but broke the decorum by
turning back just once, waving and blowing a kiss to
Tao.
I looked over at Tao, questions in my eyes and he
just smiled shyly and shrugged his shoulders. “Katherine, please escort everyone to your house. I
must speak with my family.”
“Of course Tao, we‟ll see you later.”
He bowed his head and left us.
“I‟ll say goodbye as well then, I look forward to
seeing you tomorrow evening,” The Lord said with a
bow.
“Thank you Lord Korm,” I bowed again in return
thinking how formal everything was here.
“Follow me everyone,” Kate said as she turned and
walked back down the grand staircase.
“Kate, did you know Tao from before when you
lived here?”
“No, I had no idea he was a Prince. No one ever saw
the Royal family. Even the Council rarely sees the
Queen.”
We got down the staircase and walked past the
pavilion once again and almost to the opposite end of
the valley to a three story house, simply carved out of
gray limestone.
“Mother liked this one because it was different, one
of the few that‟s a different color from the others,
along with the palace of course.”
She led us down a walkway, planted on each side
with white and blue flowers. I didn‟t recognize what
they were, but they smelled like vanilla. She opened
the simple seven foot pecan colored wood door that
had a small window at eye level.
“No one locks their doors here, there‟s no need.” Inside was a large sitting room furnished with two
simple brown upholstered chairs and a matching
sofa. A small round wooden table with ladder back
chairs was placed in front of the window. The
flooring was dark wood adorned by a beautiful
carpet, featuring white unicorns on a dark blue background. “There‟s a wash room and a storage room in the back and three bedrooms upstairs. There is a small kitchen, but because we always shared meals in the main dining hall, it is not used
much.”
“Why don‟t we wash up? I know Eric wants to see
his parents as soon as possible.”
“I was going to ask to go straight there, but Tao
stopped me before I could speak.”
“Elves are really funny about outsiders; they don‟t
expect you to speak before you have gone through
full formal introductions. It was a special honor to be
formally introduced to the Queen. If we hadn‟t had
Allwain informing them of our arrival and Tao
escorting us we could have waited in our quarters for
weeks before speaking with the right person.” “So Tao was keeping me from upsetting Lord
Korm.”
“Yes, now that we have been formally introduced
and welcomed by the Queen no less, we can go
where we please and see whomever we need to now,
with an escort of course.”
“How will we find my parents? The city is so much
larger than I ever imagined,” Eric said as he looked
out the front window anxiously.
“If I know anything of Sangustae, I expect that they
will be sending someone to escort us soon enough.” We took turns washing up and changing and just
as we finished we heard a knock on the door. Kate
opened it.
“Greetings, Katherine.”
“Johan, it‟s you,” Kate said as she embraced the
young vampire.
“Come in, come in, everyone this is Johan, we grew
up here together. Johan, this is my sister Katrina.” “Oh my, I had no idea. Kate you told me that you
were twins but….”
“Mirror.” Kate and I said at the same time and then
everyone laughed.
“And this is Letta, Rosa, El, Eric and Hun Lee.” “It‟s an honor to meet you all. I‟ve been sent to be
your escort while you‟re here and see to all your
needs. So just let me know whatever they may be
and I‟ll be happy to be of service.”
“I‟d like to see my parents now if you don‟t mind
taking us?”
“Of course, if you‟re ready I‟ll take you right now,
it‟s not far.”
“Thank you, Johan that would be great.”
We followed Johan for several minutes taking in
the sights as we went. Kate pointed out gardens,
libraries, fountains and arenas used for games,
theater and concerts.
“Here we are, please let me announce you.” We had stopped in front of a simple slate roofed
stone cottage sitting beside a small pond, while
Johan went ahead to announce us.
“If I didn‟t know differently, I‟d think that I was in
England,” El said. “What a lovely garden.” Johan returned and led us up a charming stone
path that curved through the garden and up to the
front step.
The door opened. “Eric!” his mother exclaimed as
she started to sob. As she fell into Eric‟s open arms,
he pulled her close. We couldn‟t help but cry joyful
tears as well upon seeing their truly wonderful
reunion.
“After all these years, I can‟t believe it. Come in all
of you please, come in!”
“Father, where‟s Father?” Eric asked her
impatiently.
“He‟s resting in our room. He‟s been ill for such a
long time and he‟s no better I‟m afraid. Come, its right back here. Magnus, he‟s here! Our son is finally
here.”
“My son, come to me,” Magnus said holding out his
arms to Eric.
This time it was Eric‟s turn. He dropped to his
knees beside his father‟s bed and into his open arms
where they both held each other, there were tears
rolling down both their cheeks.
“When they told your mother and me that you were
alive, we didn‟t dare believe it, but here you are my
son,” he said and then was overcome by the moment.
He just held Eric‟s face in his hands, kissed his
forehead and pulled him back onto his chest. He looked like a larger and older version of his son.
His wavy shoulder length hair was more gray than
blonde, and his face was pale he obviously wasn‟t
well.
“We‟ve come to help you regain you strength
Father. Eleanor,” Eric said as he stood and gestured
for her to come forward.
“This is Eleanor Father; she has a great gift of
healing. She and the rest of us are going to help to
make you feel better.”
“Seeing you alive is all that I need.”
He tried to sit up then, but he didn‟t have the
strength.
“It‟s all right Magnus, let us help you,” El said
while kneeling beside Eric so she could place her
hands on his chest.
As El took in a deep breath we all gathered so we
could use all our powers to enhance her gift. I could
see that Hun Lee was unsure if he should join us or
not.”
“It‟s all right Hun Lee, you can help us, just do
what we do and concentrate on healing.”
“We placed our hands on El and closed our eyes. Within seconds I could feel my energy flow to her, when she slowed her breathing we slowed ours and I could feel my body heat and then finally cool
signaling that she was finished.
“How do you feel Magnus?” Eric‟s mother Brigitta
asked impatiently wringing her hands hoping for the
best.
He opened his eyes, stared into Eric‟s and slowly
pushed himself up into a sitting position. We
collectively held our breath watching Magnus‟s face
as the color started to return to his pale cheeks. Magnus‟s eyes widened, he looked down and put
his hand to his chest. Eric started forward when
Magnus held up his hand to stop him. His father‟s
now glowing face broke into a wide smile. “I‟m
starving,” he said loudly clapping and rubbing his
hands together.
“We all cheered and laughed and Brigitta rushed to
his side and embraced both Magnus and El. “How can we ever thank you Eleanor, and all of
you? Really, it‟s a miracle.”
“Bring my robe my dear, I wish to walk in my
garden.”
“Are you sure, maybe you should wait until
tomorrow?”
“It‟s all right Mother, look at his face. He‟s well, let‟s
help him.”
Brigitta burst into tears again. “Two miracles in
one day, it‟s too much. More than I ever dreamed
possible.”
Eric held her again letting her cry into his
shoulder.
“I‟m here now; everything is going to be fine. “Don‟t make me get my robe myself.”
“I‟m coming, I‟m coming.
“We‟ll wait for you in the front room,” I said. “That was the most amazing thing that I‟ve ever
seen, let alone been a part of,” Hun Lee said as we
waited for Eric and his parents to join us. “You do
this kind of thing all the time?”
“We‟ve helped El before yes, but it never fails to
amaze us,” Kate said.
“Again I have to thank you for letting me come with
you.”
“As we explained to you before, we didn‟t let you
come. I had an overwhelming feeling that you were
essential to our success, not just on this journey, but
on whatever quest we are sent.”
Again he looked shocked, but composed himself
quickly. “I‟m honored, truly honored.”
“Take it easy Father. It‟s been awhile since you
walked,” Eric said trying unsuccessfully to restrain
Magnus.
“Exactly why I don‟t want to waste any more time,
and I don‟t feel like walking, I feel like running,
hunting….”
“Easy Magnus,” cautioned Brigitta.
“Open the door please, the gardens, I long to sit in
my garden again.”
We opened the door, and although Eric was at his
side Magnus, took in a deep breath, stood tall and
walked himself out the door and into the moonlit
garden.
“It‟s even more beautiful than I remembered.” He walked over to the pond and looked down at his
and Eric‟s reflection; the mirror like surface
shimmering in the moonlight.
“My word, it‟s like the clock has been turned back
before the wars.” he said tears streaming down his
cheeks again.
He turned to Eric, putting a hand on each of his
shoulders, “It‟s been so long my son, but now I feel I
can look to the future again.”
“That‟s exactly the way I feel Father, the Five gave
me my life back as well. Just when I had lost all
hope.”
They embraced again, Magnus slapping Eric‟s back
with exuberance.
“Well I‟m going to fix us something to eat,” Brigitta
said gleefully.
“We‟ll help you,” Kate and I said at the same time. “Is there anything that you need, I‟d be happy to go
to the stores?”
“Thank you Johan, but we‟ve had food delivered for
us daily, but as Magnus ate very little, we still have
plenty.”
“I suggest that we should make some of the
enhanced crimson. I think it would do us all good,”
El said as she followed us inside.
“Good idea, Brigitta do you have some fresh
water?”
“In the pitcher next to the bed, I filled it just before
you came, but there‟s a pump on the counter if you
need more.”
I took out my pouch and added two tablets to the
pitcher. Soon the cool spring water turned blood red.
I poured a glass for everyone and Johan helped Kate
and El hand them out starting with Eric and
Magnus.
“This is fantastic, but it will never replace my need
to hunt,” Magnus said as he finished his crimson. “It‟s not meant to, it‟s for the times we can‟t or
don‟t dare to,” Eric explained. “Allwain has enhanced
it so it gives us even greater strength.”
“Genius, we only have animal crimson here so this
is quite a treat I must say.”
We shared a simple meal and Eric told his parents
about our adventures.
I think we should call it a day, sleeping in a bed
sounds awfully good right now,” I said.
“I‟m going to stay here with my parents, I‟ll see you
tomorrow.”
“Of course, Eric.”
He walked us out and gave Kate a kiss.
“Good night and thank you so much for helping
me. My family is together again, I can still hardly
believe it.”
“We‟re all happy we could help Eric,” El said as we
turned to leave.
As we walked back to our house, my thoughts
drifted to Damien and how much I missed him. “I‟m going right to bed,” I said when we got in the
house.
I want to catch up with Johan,” Kate said turning
to me. “Take the bedroom on the left; I‟m sure that
there are night gowns in the dresser, I‟ll be up later.” I wasn‟t that tired, I just wanted to talk to Damien.
Kate was right, there were night gowns in the
dresser, so I washed up quickly and crawled into
bed.
“Damien?”
“I’m here Katrina.”
“I‟m in Sangustae; it‟s a truly amazing place. We‟ve
met Eric‟s parents and we helped El heal Eric‟s
father. How about you, how is the ship?”
“It’s fine, you’d love it and we should be in New
York in less than two weeks. The steam ships have
come a long way; unfortunately the seas are very
rough.”
“Now you probably miss Letta (I smiled to myself as
I visualized the calming effect that Letta’s gift would
have had on the rough seas) more than you miss me,
but I’d be content to stay inside with you.”
“I miss you terribly; I wish we could share
Sangustae together.”
“So do I. We met the Queen today when we arrived
and we found out that Tao is her son!”
“Really, now that is a surprise, why would an Elven
Prince become a wizard’s apprentice?”
“You’re asking me? Why have any of us taken on
our tasks?”
“You’re right; we only knew that we had to.” We spoke for over an hour before we said
goodnight. Now I was relaxed enough to sleep.
 CHAPTER Thirteen
We need your help Damien, please come quickly!” “Philepe, what‟s wrong?”
“A boiler is on fire, there‟s panic on the lower decks

and we‟re going to sink if we don‟t get the fire out.” I pulled on some pants and boots and rushed with
Philepe to do whatever we could to help, Ivan
following close behind. Ricardo and the others were
already in the line of buckets, filling and passing
water to try to squelch the fire.
Smoke filled the hallways making us choke and I
could understand the panic in everyone‟s eyes. “There‟s no pressure, the fire hose is of no use!
They‟re trying to keep the fire from spreading.”
Michael yelled so we could hear him over the all
mêlée around us.
I saw an officer rushing out of the boiler room
towards us.
“What can we do to help you?”
“We‟re going to make ready to evacuate. Get at
least the women and children into the life boats just
in case. The lower decks are filled with Polish
immigrants, most don‟t even speak English. Would
you help us try to get them out?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Please go room to room, starting with
the next deck up. I have most of my men fighting the
fire and getting the life boats ready.”
“Hopefully most of the people are already out!”
Philepe shouted as we raced to the stairwell leading
to the next deck.
“I‟ll take this first deck; you start on the next one
up,” I said.
We knocked on every door, making sure that every
cabin was either empty or that the people had their
life vests on and were in the process to evacuating to
the lifeboat decks. The passengers were frightened,
but seemed calmer when we spoke to them in their
native language. We checked the entire deck and
then moved to the next to help Philepe.
When I got to the final room at the rear of the ship I
could hear sobbing. I tried the handle, the door was
locked.
“Open the door; I‟m here to help you,” I said in
Polish.
The sobs only grew louder. I broke the door open
and on the floor beside the bed cowered a woman
holding a baby and shielding two small children
huddled beside her.
“It‟s all right, I‟ll help you. I went to her and tried to
take the baby from her arms. She fought me,
screaming and tried to slap me. “Stop, we have to get
you out now or your children won‟t survive. Do you
understand?” I told her, again in her native
language.
Finally she calmed down a bit and nodded tearfully “I‟m frightened, my husband hasn‟t come back, he
said he‟d come right back! I want to wait for him!” “There‟s no time, you have to come with me now!” I bent down to pick up the youngest child, who was
quiet and staring up at me. He grabbed on tightly as I lifted him and then looked over to his mother for
reassurance.
“It‟s all right Karol, we‟ll see papa later,” she calmly
told him as she stood still clutching the baby tightly
to her and holding out her hand to her older son. I pushed her forward, out into the hallway. The
smoke now filling this deck had changed from gray to
oily black making the air thick and hard to breathe. I
pulled out a kerchief from my pocket and covered
Karol‟s face with it.
“Quickly now, get to the stairwell!” I yelled forcing
her ahead as fast as I dared.
We got to the stairwell and climbed up the four
flights of stairs into the darkness of the lifeboat deck.
At least we could breathe now and I frantically
looked around trying to find out which way to go to
get them to safety. Ivan and Philepe were nowhere in
sight. “They must still be checking rooms”, I thought
to myself.
The sea was so rough! We were taking white water
over the railings and the helpless ship was rocking
so violently it was hard to stay standing.
Only emergency lights were on and I could see a
lone life boat still being loaded.
“There,” I pointed. “Get to the life boat, hold on
tight Karol.”
With my other arm, I pulled the woman close, to
steady her as we made our way across the now wave
filled deck.
The ships‟ mate helped her into the boat and I
handed Karol to the woman sitting next to her. “Thank you, sir,” she mouthed as they lowered the
boat into the raging sea.
“How are the life boats going to make it in these
seas?” I shouted to the mate.
“A rescue ship is only minutes away, they‟ll survive
and so will all of us.”
“Is the fire under control now, will this ship sail
on?”
“LOOK OUT!!” I heard someone scream from across
the deck as a large part of the mast above us came
crashing down.
“Man overboard, man ov…..”
“DAAMMMMIEENNNNNN!!!”
“Katrina, what‟s wrong, what‟s happened?” Kate said trying to calm me.
“Damien….” I said sobbing uncontrollably.
“It‟s just a bad dream, I‟m sure he‟s fine.”
“El, Rosa, Letta and Hun Lee rushed into the room, swords drawn.
“What is it?” El asked rushing to my side.
“I don‟t know, I can‟t calm her, she woke screaming Damien‟s name.
El crawled in bed with me and the others got as close as they could. She cradled me and stroked my hair.
“Shhh,” she said as she rocked me back and forth looking helplessly up at everyone else.
Now all the girls had tears rolling down their cheeks, they could feel what I was feeling and see what I had seen. Damien was gone; we couldn‟t sense him any longer.
“I‟ll make sure that you can sleep without dreaming, you rest and then we‟ll figure out what you want to do, all right?”
She placed her hand on my forehead and I slept.

“Katrina,” I heard.
“Damien, are you there?” Nothing.
“Katrina, wake up its El.”

I opened my eyes, but I felt empty, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.
“I want to go home.”
“All right, I‟ll tell Tao we‟ll be leaving as soon as possible.”
All of our clothes had been cleaned for us. And it took all of my strength to get dressed and go down stairs.
“You need to eat something and drink some crimson,” Kate said handing me a glass of red liquid.
I gave her a look, telling her I didn‟t care if I ever ate or drank anything again.
“I know you don‟t feel like it, you don‟t feel like doing anything right now, but if you want to go home you‟ll need your strength,” she said as she pushed the glass towards me once again.
“All right,” I said taking the glass from her. “Where‟s everyone else?”
“They went to speak to the Council and tell them we wish we could stay, but we have to go home, except that Eric will be staying with his parents for now.”
“Are you all right with that?”
“Of course I am. We‟ll have all the time in the world to spend together…” Then at once realizing what she had said. “Oh Katrina, I‟m so sorry, I…”
“I know. I can‟t believe he‟s ….”
“We don‟t know what happened maybe…”
I looked up at her, tears in both our eyes reflecting the reality before us.
A knock on the door made us jump.
“Come in,” we said at the same time.
The door opened and Tao walked in.
“I wish to ask you to stay. I understand your pain and I am willing to escort you home of course, if you wish.”
I searched his face for a reason why he would ask this of me.
“Tao, Katrina needs to be with her family now. You understand that don‟t you?”
As Kate spoke Tao never broke the gaze that held me.
“Nothing is going to change what‟s happened. Damien‟s wishes were that the progression of the Five takes priority over anything else that happened.”
What I saw in his eyes told me that both he and Damien had knownthat he wouldn‟t make it to the America‟s. That was the sadness I saw in Tao earlier, a fact I realized now, that I had known too.
“What is it that you think I need to do in Sangustae that can‟t wait Tao?”
“Your training will not be complete if you leave now. There is much to learn here from the races you are destined to protect, Katrina.”
“I didn‟t come here to train, Tao. I came here to help Eric‟s father and we‟ve done that.”
We continued staring at one another. Elves are notoriously stubborn and not known to show much emotion, but I could feel Tao‟s anger.
“I can‟t make you do anything you don‟t want to do Katrina, but I ask that you at least consult with the others before you leave.”
Although his face and demeanor were outwardly calm I could feel frustration emanating from him.
“They are all free to do as they wish and of course you could refuse to escort me back.”
The door opened just then and Rosa walked in.
“Rosa, just in time, how was the Council meeting?” Kate said hoping she could relieve some tension.
“Interesting and long, Hun Lee has decided to stay and study here, he thinks he can find things that will help us.”
“Where are El and Letta?”
“They have asked for an audience with the Queen in private and explain why we won‟t be staying.”
“I‟ll prepare for our return journey,” Tao said coldly. “When would you like to depart?”
“As soon as possible, thank you Tao,” I said softly
“What was that all about?” Rosa asked after Tao left. “I‟ve never seen him upset before.”
“He‟d like us to stay and “train” here for awhile. How do you feel about that Rosa, Kate?”
They were quiet for a moment carefully
contemplating their decision.
“I want to go home,” Rosa said.
“Me too.”
“It‟s not just because I want to, is it?”
“No, I feel the need to go back now,” Rosa said with conviction.
“I‟m glad I didn‟t bother to unpack. We should eat something or I could ask Johan to bring something here if you prefer.”
“No, I want to go to the dining hall, that way we can stop to see how Magnus is doing.”
“Shall we go then? Johan is waiting to escort us.”
Just as we went to the door it opened and El and Letta were on the other side.
“Oh good, we were just about to head to the dining hall to have breakfast, and then see how Magnus is before start for home.”
“Yes, it will give us a chance to fill you in on our meetings with the Council and the Queen.”
As we walked through the beautiful streets of Sangustae I remembered something Damien had said to me the last time we spoke „we only knew we had to‟ I was filled with sadness once again, but understood why he went on that voyage knowing what he knew. Because he knew he needed to, the reason wasn‟t clear to me now, but I was sure someday it would be.
El came over to me and put her arm around my waist and her head on my shoulder. She didn‟t need to say anything, just be there holding me up and helping through the sad moment she could feel I was having.
The dining hall was simple, as was the food, but what was amazing was the variety of the diners.
Vampires, Elves, Dwarves, and many others, races of every shape, size and color. It was a wondrous sight. They weren‟t just existing, but thriving in peace and harmony.
“We have to make sure that this place stays safe,” Letta said as we looked around.
“Absolutely.” We all agreed.
“The food is wonderful! Is everything grown here, Johan?”
“Yes, everyone helps, some grow vegetables, and some have chickens, goats and cows. There are fields for grains to feed both animals and residents. Vampires have crimson, but also venture out into the countryside to hunt.”
“But not crimson from human blood?”
“No, only from animal blood, but Tao mentioned that Allwain had perfected a new way to preserve and store blood so it may be possible to have other kinds of blood in the future I hope.”
He seemed excited at the prospect of having human blood. I understood, it‟s our nature after all.
“So tell us more about you meetings,” I said as I ate crepes filled with fruit and cream.
“I think the Council was just curious and wanted a look at us,” Rosa said.
“They welcomed us and pledged their allegiance to our combined forces,” added El.
“The Queen was a little disappointed that we wouldn‟t be staying longer, but she understood why.”
“Tao was very upset with me this morning.”
“Especially for an Elf,” Kate said. “That‟s the most emotion I think I‟ve ever seen from one. They‟re always so…under control.”
“That‟s a diplomatic way of putting it,” laughed Johan.
“We have some of the new crimson tablets with us Johan would you like to try some again?”
“I‟d love to, thank you Rosa.”
Rosa took a cup of water and added a single table. It immediately started to dissolve and the water turned a thick, dark blood red.
“That‟s truly amazing!” Johan said barely able to contain his excitement.
“Well go ahead, try it,” Letta encouraged.
Jonah savored the scent first and then using both hands he picked up the cup and took a sip. He had a surprised look on his face and then gulped its entire contents down.
“Well I guess you like it,” El laughed.
“I had no idea that there was such a difference. I feel powerful, ready for anything.”
“Allwain said he‟d have more delivered soon. Every clan will have their own chemist to make them eventually,” I said.
“I‟m glad that I found you,” Hun Lee said excitedly as he joined us. “Before you go there‟s something I think you should see.”
We followed him around the corner to a two story structure, Palladian in style with carved columns across the front. Stone steps led us up to the first level, between the columns and through the double, eight foot paneled wood doors.
“It‟s a library,” I said as we entered. I‟ve always loved the way a library smelled.
“Not just any library. This one holds originals and copies of every important piece of literature ever written. It has always been believed by the outside world, that through the ages many documents, scrolls and books of great importance had been lost or destroyed.”
“You mean like the fires that destroyed original works in Phoenicia, the originators of the modern alphabet?” I said as we continued to look around in amazement at the books cataloged on shelves twenty feet high and in isle after isle that ranged as far as my eyes could see. It was an astounding sight and I wondered how far the library was cut into the mountain.
“Yes, as it turns out, because there were vampires intergraded with humans even then. There were monks employed in every country, men whose only job was to make copies of important texts and send them here to be preserved and stored for all time; something that continues even today.”
“Amazing!” Rosa said turning to Hun Lee. No wonder you‟re so excited.”
“No one has ever mentioned even the possible existence of this to us before,” El said as we started to walk down the center aisle.
“That‟s true, not even the scholars I‟ve sought out my entire life divulged the existence of this place ….if they even knew about it themselves, that is.”
“That‟s because before anyone can leave, they are sworn to secrecy,” Johan said. “No one takes that oath lightly.”
“Just think of what would happen if humans knew this library or this sanctuary existed, they wouldn‟t stop looking for it until they found it, destroyed Sangustae and claimed everything for themselves,” Rosa said as we continued.
“Exactly, but the reason I brought you here was the portrait wing.”
We followed Hun Lee down the aisles of books; for my gift of scent it was simply intoxicating.
Thousands of years of history and philosophy right here before us. We took a left and found ourselves in the middle of a large sitting room. There were overstuffed chairs in exotic leathers, white onyx tables inlaid with gold all placed to enhance the view of the oil portraits at eye level that were hung on the walls surrounding us.
“The portraits in this room were commissioned from some of the most important artists of their day. In these frames are representations of the vampires that are so important in our history, and to our evolution as a race. Each portrait has a plaque telling the name of the subject and something about their contributions to our history. When you look at them, you‟ll notice that each plaque also contains numbers which coordinate with the volumes in the archives associated with them. These books are written histories and give a personal accounting of their specific accomplishments,” he said as he continued to lead us to a set of five portraits which were nearly life size. The men were dressed in chain mail with overlays of different colors, each
embroidered with what I assumed were their family crests.
“Does he look familiar, Katrina?”
I gasped! “Our family crest, It‟s…. Father!”
“Look closely, these men are all your fathers and Damien‟s as well.”
We couldn‟t speak, we just looked at the portraits and then at each other and then back at the portraits.
“Remember the story that I told you on our journey here? It was about the protectors?”
“I remember, the Templar. Wait a minute, are you saying….,” Rosa said and then looked away from Hun Lee and right back to the portrait of her father.
“That‟s right.”
“Our fathers?”
“Yes!” he exclaimed excitedly. “Five of the original nine Knights. I‟ve already pulled the manuscripts written by their own hands. These journals chronicle everything that transpired in those days.”
I couldn‟t take my eyes off my father‟s portrait; pride swelling up from my toes to my head. I could tell the other girls felt the same way. I only wished that Damien was here to share this moment with us.
“Maybe we should stay and read our fathers‟ writings,” El said proudly staring up at her fathers‟ portrait.
“You‟ve probably read most of them already Hun Lee, am I right?” I said.
“Well yes, it was just such an exciting find.”
“Could you just give us just the highlights? I don‟t want to sit here and read what my father wrote when I can hear it from his lips.”
“Why didn‟t our fathers ever tell us any of this before, especially after the protection ceremony?” El asked.
“Secret societies remember?” Rosa said
sarcastically.
“Your fathers joined with four French Knights to form the Templar, to protect and serve. They set up escorts for those making pilgrimages to the holy land. They started the first banks so that robbers would stop targeting unescorted travelers. A traveler depositing funds in his home bank was issued a letter of credit to carry to the associated bank in the Holy land. Once the pilgrim reached his destination, all he had to do was present his letter of credit to collect his funds. Letters of Credit are still used as an accepted method of transferring funds even now. Bandits quickly found that the Pilgrims no longer carried vast amounts of gold or silver and the raiding parties on pilgrim convoys all but stopped.
But then the Templar numbers grew so large they could no longer be easily controlled especially when their purpose changed from one of religious fervor to fighting for land and riches. Your fathers became disenchanted and went their own way. Some of the power grabbing unscrupulous Knights feared the impact that your fathers‟ defection would have on the Knights as a body. These same Knights had always feared and resented your fathers and now that fear turned to hate. Your fathers were betrayed by one of the original French Knights and with the
authorization and backing of the Frank Crown, a group was formed to find and kill your fathers, the original protectors”.
“The Volator,” Kate said under her breath.
“Yes. It means hunter in Latin.”
“Many vampire and human Knights were found, tortured, burned at the stake or beheaded. Including three of the original French Knights, betrayed by the fourth. That fourth Knight escaped death and went into hiding and he‟s never been found.”
“Are those the volumes on the table over there?” I asked as I pointed to the center table covered with open leather bound manuscripts.
“Yes; there‟s so much more, it‟s fascinating. Although your fathers and many others were condemned by ruling Royalty throughout Europe, they were secretly exonerated by the Pope. Even while he disbanded the Knights, the church has not only continued to protect them, but continues to ask them for help even to this day.”
“Well that has to be the biggest shock of all,” I said shaking my head. “How long do you plan to stay here Hun Lee?”
“If you need me I‟ll be here. If I come across information that I think you need, I‟ll pass it on to you. I can‟t say how long, I‟ll let the powers that be guide me as to what I need to study to be able to help you.”
“This is why I felt the need to have you join us, I‟m sure of it. As for the rest of us, it‟s time to go home.”
“Kate, did you know about this library or any of this?”
“No we were never allowed in here, we only used the ones provided by our schools.”
“There‟s also an artifact room, but it‟s guarded by powerful magic and traps. At least those are the stories,” Johan added.
“Let‟s go see Magnus and say goodbye to Eric,” El said.
“Good bye Hun Lee, thank you for your service.”
“I‟ve found my purpose; it‟s an honor Katrina.”

We found Magnus tending his garden. He looked wonderful, so healthy and much younger than yesterday.

“Girls how nice, come join me. Eric is inside helping Brigitta with lunch. Please say that you‟ll stay.”

“Is it that late already, I had no idea,” I said. “Of course we‟ll stay, thank you Magnus.”
“Good, good, we‟ll eat here in the garden on the patio by the pond,” he said then taking in a deep breath and smiling. “I may never eat inside again. Thank you again for all that you‟ve done, I have both my health and my son back.”
“Well I was going to suggest that we give you a booster, but I can see that won‟t be necessary,” laughed El.
Eric and Brigitta came into the garden with trays of food, wine and crimson. They set the trays on a table that sat at the edge of the pond near the bench that we used yesterday.
Eric gave Kate a hug and kissed her gently. They were so sweet together. Brigitta did the same to Magnus.
“It‟s hard to believe you two newlyweds have a son this old,” Rosa laughed.
“It‟s true. I‟ve decided I‟d better stay at the house with Hun Lee so they‟ll have their privacy.” Smiling, Eric leered to the embarrassment of his parents.
“Oh you,” Brigitta said blushing as she poured the wine.
We all laughed and as we ate. I was so glad I had my ever enlarging family around me. I knew if it wasn‟t for them, I would have stayed in a dark room for months curled up on a bed crying. I was sure that Damien would have disapproved of such behavior, and I was determined to make sure he would have been proud of me.
“What are your thoughts now Magnus. Are you going back or do you wish to stay here?” I asked as we ate.
“Eric assures me that our Kingdom is in good hands. The last thing I wish to do is create an unstable environment there. We‟re happy here for now, but if Eric‟s plans continue to include moving to America, we will follow. We lost so many years, that we can‟t bear the thought of being away from him too long.”
“You are, of course, welcome to stay at Mormont; we‟d love to have you,” Kate said looking lovingly at Eric.
“How generous of you and I would love to see your parents again,” Brigitta said happily.
“It‟s settled then. When you‟re ready you‟ll join us,” I said as we finished up.
“We better find Tao and be on our way,” Rosa said as she stood.
“Thank you for everything, really,” Brigitta said giving us each a hug.
“We‟ll see you soon; send word if you need anything,” El said as we started to make our way out.
“Eric, you had better go with them and see them off,” Magnus said giving Kate a wink.
“I‟ll be just a moment; you all go ahead. I‟ll meet you back at the house,” Kate said.
I knew she not only wanted some time alone with Eric, but to tell him what we felt about Damien.
We got back to Mother‟s house and rolled up our slings. Everyone was quiet. I think we were still trying to get our heads around what we had learned this morning.
Johan had gone to tell Tao that we were ready to leave, so we just waited. Kate arrived a little while later.
“Tao is on his way,” she said as she entered the house.
“I wrapped your sling for you, so we‟re all set.” “It won‟t take as long to get back. Tao will take us on a more direct route.”
“Good, I think we‟re all ready to be home again,” Rosa said.
A knock came on the door and we opened it to find Tao on the other side. If he was still unhappy with me he didn‟t show it.
“Shall we go? I have received permission to take you through the underground tunnels. This will cut our travel time in half.”
“That sounds great Tao, thank you, and yes I think we‟re all ready.”
We followed Tao out of the city back to the stairway that we used to enter, but instead of ascending, Tao whispered something and a passageway became clear just behind them.
Once we were all inside, the passageway closed behind us leaving us in total darkness. Our eyes quickly adjusted and Tao was again surrounded by light. I remembered Allwain using this magic as well. It was bright enough to light the tunnel quite a way in front and behind him. We had to travel single file, but he picked up the speed gradually until we were finally at full speed. In just twelve hours, we were half the way home and it was time to leave the tunnel.
“This land looks familiar, Tao.”
“We‟re close to Salzburg,” Tao said solemnly. “Do you want to stop at the Daminov Palace?”
“No, I‟m not ready for that.”
“Of course. We can be back by tomorrow morning if we use full speed. Do you want something to eat before we continue?”
“That‟s a good idea. We should keep our strength up; you never know what‟s close,” Letta said as she surveyed the surroundings.
We drank our crimson and ate some dried fruit, meat and nuts. Totally refreshed, we continued on.
We got back to Mormont just before dawn. It was late August now and the mornings already were crisp and cool, a foretelling of the coming fall. I felt tired, numb and completely drained of emotion. I didn‟t want to see or talk to anyone when we got inside.
“I‟m going straight to bed. I‟ll see you all later.”
“I‟ll go and tell Father and Mother; don‟t‟ worry Kat. Just rest, we‟ll be close by if you need us.”
I dragged myself up the stairs and into my room. I took everything off, starting with my weapons; which I instinctively put on the table beside the bed. After unbraiding my hair and crawling in between the cool sheets I fell asleep clutching the heart necklace Damien had given me for my birthday.
“I‟ll find you in the new world, I‟ll find you in the new world, I‟ll find you in the new world….” Damien‟s voice filled my head repeating the same phrase over and over again.
“Damien!” I called with my mind.
Nothing.
“Damien are you there? Where are you my love?” I called desperately.
“So that‟s it,” I thought. “I have to go back to America.”
I slept all day not waking until I heard my door open a crack.
“Sarah, is that you?”
“Yes sweetheart, do you need anything?”
“I‟m hungry.”
“That‟s good, I‟ll get you something. Are you up to having a visitor? Quinn‟s been here all day.”
“I‟m not decent; will you get me a robe please? Sarah held out the garment, allowing me to put my arms into the sleeves and helping me tie the sash at my waist. Thank you Sarah, he can come in now.”
Quinn said nothing as he came to me. He just pulled me into his arms letting his strength surround me.
“What can I do?” he said finally.
“Has there been any news?” I said as I pulled back and looked up into his eyes.
He hesitated; concern filling those beautiful blue pools.
“I‟m all right Quinn,” I whispered, “what news do you have?”
“Everyone has been accounted for…except…”
“Except for Damien.”
He nodded.
“They sent word that they had been rescued and taken by ship back to Scotland. They plan to take the next one available departing for the American shores. They‟re just waiting for replacement goods as everything they had was lost with the ship.”
I sat on the edge of my bed, thoughts speeding through my mind.
“You need to send word for them to wait for us; we‟ll be joining them. Please do it now. As soon as I talk to everyone, we‟ll make our plans.”
“Katrina, I don‟t think…”
I shot Quinn a look he recognized.
“This is something that I‟m being compelled to do as the leader of the Five. Not the decision of a volatile young, grief stricken, foolhardy female vampire.”
“Very well, I‟ll send word at once,” Quinn said using his formal „yes ma‟am‟ voice. Oh and by the way I‟ll be going with you.”
Before I had a chance to say anything he was gone.
“Why don‟t you eat now while I fill your tub?” Sarah said anxiously as she stood in the doorway. “Are you sure you‟re all right?”
“Are the others here?”
“Yes, waiting in the common room.”
I put on my slippers and followed Sarah out. Everyone was sitting around the table and turned to us when we entered.
“You don‟t have to go with me.”
“Like hellwe don‟t, we‟re the Five, not the one,” Rosa said angrily.
“That‟s right, we‟re stronger together than apart,” El added.
“I have just one question?”
“What‟s that Letta?”
“When are we going?”
“Kate, you haven‟t said anything, what are your thoughts?”
“I wish we could wait for Eric, but I know if he was meant to go with us he would. More than anything he needs time with his parents.”
“So we‟re all agreed then?”
They all nodded yes.
“Father wants to see you Kat and of course Mother is worried sick about you. Come on, I‟ll go with you.”
“Thank you Kate, but I think that I need to go alone. Right now I‟m starving, what‟s there to eat?”
“That‟s a good sign. Klaus sent enough food for an army,” El laughed.
We ate and drank until we were totally satisfied. I looked into each of my friend‟s faces and my sister‟s too.
“You don‟t believe Damien is dead, do you Kat?” Kate said.
“He‟s gone I know that, but do I think that he‟s dead, no.”
“What do you mean?‟ Letta asked a concerned look on her face.
“I don‟t know, he‟s dormant somewhere and he can‟t hear me. In the earth, underwater I just don‟t know.”
“You may never know, Kat.”
“That‟s true, but what I do know is that he wanted me to complete our dream and our mission - start the new covens in America. With every ounce of my being I feel I need to go and do that...…now.”
“I felt it too,” El said looking a little dazed.
“So what do you want to do first?” Rosa said with determination.
“We‟ll be landing in New York. Damien purchased the house that we stayed in and has a staff in place there. His advisors, Corbin, along with his lawyer and accountants have been buying land all over the country already - including the desert where we had the vision. He wanted to make sure it would always be protected.”
“Our fathers will be setting up banks and businesses, but we‟ll be deciding where we will set up each coven,” Letta said.
“People will have to be in place in the government just like here, so that we can easily change our identities to hide the fact that we don‟t age,” El added. Everyone‟s minds were fully involved working on this challenge now and I knew the decision to go was the right one.
“When we went to Daminov Palace for the Council, Father had profiles compiled of all the young royals interested in going to the Americas to start the new covens. We should have the profiles brought to the library so we can go over them,” Kate said.
“That‟s a fantastic idea, we‟ll be able to tell which ones should be picked, I just know it,” El said excitedly.
It felt good to have a plan. Invigorating actually.
“This is why Eric is to stay, Gerhardt, Hun Lee and….”
“Kale,” we all said together.
“They‟ll prepare everyone, along with Allwain‟s help of course.”
“We‟ll want to send each coven separately, it‟ll be safer.”
“And set up a new council,” Letta said.
“I have an idea for the leader of the American council.”
“Who?” Kate wondered.
“I think it should be Nathaniel, from the Vancouver clan.”
“You‟re right, he‟s perfect,” Rosa said and we all agreed.
“I‟m off to change, I need to go and see Father and Mother now. We‟ll start first thing in the morning.”
I felt so much better now that the decisions had been made, I thought as I walked across the courtyard.
“Katrina, wait up,” Quinn called as he increased his stride to join me. “I‟ve sent word to Philepe to wait for us.”
“Good, I‟m on my way to talk to Father right now.”
He grabbed my arm and stopped me. “Wait, you‟re not going to argue with me about my going with you?”
“No, we always said that if I went you‟d be going too. We‟ll need our trusted Watchers just as we always have,” I said as I started walking again.
“That means that Kate will need one as well.”
“I assume Thomas will want to be chosen, but that‟s up to Gunter.”
“Did I hear my name?” Gunter said from the hallway in front of Fathers quarters.
“You did, how‟s Patty feeling?” I asked as we climbed up the stairs.
“Tired, but fine, you should see what she and your mother have done to the nursery.”
“I‟d love to, but right now I need to speak with my parents.”
“Of course,” he said as he opened the door for me. “Katrina I…”
“Thank you Gunter, you don‟t have to say anything, I‟ll be all right. Quinn I‟ll see you later.”
“Katrina!” I heard Mother call from the balcony. She met me half way, embracing me and rubbing my back. It felt so good and I allowed the tears I‟d been holding back to flow silently down my face.
“I‟m so sorry darling, what can I do?”
“Just be my mother, that‟s enough.”
I could hear Father‟s footsteps behind me so I pulled away and Mother wiped my tear stained cheeks with her handkerchief.
“I hear you plan to join the envoy. Don‟t look so surprised! Nothing happens around here without my knowledge.”
“It‟s what we all feel we need to do, what Damien would have wanted us to do as well, Sir Knight.”
Now it was his turn to look shocked.
“I assume that you have trusted human contacts in America as well?”
“I do, it‟s part of the reason Michael, Edward and Ricardo are part of the envoy.”
“Of course, the Americans don‟t know you were part of the original secret society, only descendants.”
“That‟s correct. I trust them no less now than I trusted my comrades then.”
“You were betrayed by one of your own before remember?”
“So you know the whole story then.”
“Hun Lee found your portraits in the great library in Sangustae and gave us the short story from your journals.”
“I‟ve never stopped looking for him and I never will.”
“Can we at least sit down?” pleaded Mother.
“Yes of course, let‟s sit. I have many things to discuss with you Katrina.”
I gave him a questioning look as we walked to the sofa and sat down.
“We believe that the ship was sabotaged. Damien saved many lives, but was hit by a broken mast and knocked into the cold ocean water just before the boilers blew and the ship started to sink.”
“He‟s a hero darling,” Mother added.
“He knew it was his destiny to go and that he wouldn‟t finish the trip. Looking back I knew it too. We did complete our mission in Sangustae, part of which as it turns out, was Hun Lee‟s. He has chosen to stay and study in the great library there.” “So Magnus is well and his family is reunited?”
“Yes. Father I just thought of something. Quinn told me that everyone on the ship was accounted for except Damien, which means that the saboteur is still with the envoy.”
“They‟ll be on guard I assure you. Katrina, Damien left papers with me to be opened if something happened to him. He‟s left you everything, his wealth and all his assets both here and in America,” he said waiting to see my reaction.
“That was very generous of him. I‟ll take the papers with me.”
“There‟s no need, he sent identical ones to his people in America. Did you meet his lawyer when you were there?”
“No, but then we only stayed a short time.”
“His name is Davidson, Timothy Davidson; he‟ll meet you in New York.”
“Very well, now I have a request Father. The girls and I want to go over the profiles that were compiled when we were at council. We plan to choose those we feel should join us and have them trained and ready while we‟re on this trip.”
My parents looked at each other not sure what to say.
“You‟re strength amazes me Katrina.”
“I guess I take after you Father. We‟ll start tomorrow if you‟ll have the profiles delivered to the library. Oh, I told Magnus and Brigitta that they were welcome to stay here with us if they choose to leave Sangustae, I hope that‟s all right?”
“We‟d love to have them; wouldn‟t we Elizabeth? You and Brigitta were very friendly as I recall.”
“We were, if I‟d have known earlier who Eric really was I could have eased their pain.”
“Destiny has it all worked out; things are as they are meant to be.”
I spent several more hours with them discussing our trip and Gunter and Patty‟s nursery. It was as if Mother had always been in my life and yet I would be leaving them again soon, along with everything else that made me feel safe.
“Is there anything else you need us to do, either now or while you‟re gone?”
I thought for a moment. “We need our own shipping company,” I said without hesitation.
My parents looked at each other in shock again.
“Don‟t ask me why, I just know that we do, both for passengers and for freight.”
“All right Katrina, I‟ll see to it right away. Anything else?” he chuckled.
“No, not that I know of right now,” I said as we rose.
“I‟m proud of you Katrina, we both are,” Father said as they walked me to the door.
I turned, looking him solemnly in the eyes, “I‟m proud of you too, Father.”
I gave them each a nice long hug and headed out to see Allwain. Gunter was still in the hall of course and he had a very serious look on his face.
“What‟s wrong Gunter? Has something happened?”
“Quinn told me what you‟re planning and I‟m trying to decide how I feel about it.”
“Would you rather that Kate and I took someone else?”
“No it‟s just the idea of their being so far away, that‟s all.”
“You‟re just going to miss bossing them around,” I laughed.
“I‟ll walk a little ways with you, if that‟s all right?”
“Of course, Gunter.”
“I‟m not sure I should allow Thomas to go, but if I don‟t, I don‟t know what he‟ll do.”
“I know I didn‟t give you much time, it‟s not what I planned. In fact it seems I really don‟t plan anything anymore. I have to do, what I need to do that‟s all.”
We stopped then and Gunter turned to me, searching my face.
“I can‟t send Thomas, Katrina. I can‟t be sure that his anger and his wish to be turned won‟t cloud his judgment. He‟s changed since…”
“We‟ve all changed since we lost Gregor and Cedrik.”
“True, but the change in Thomas isn‟t for the better; he is still so angry and bitter.”
“El told me that he still feels guilty for living when his brothers are dead, maybe that‟s a part of it.”
“It‟s just too soon, I can‟t let him go,” he said shaking his head and trying to figure out what to do.
“I told Quinn that the decision was up to you, if not Thomas then who?”
Again he looked at me his eyes asking me for help.
“Avery,” we said together.
“Thomas will need a new purpose Gunter. The five of us are going to be choosing members for the new world coven. They will need to be trained and their gifts developed. What if you and Father put Thomas in charge of training one of the covens, which would also include training the new Watchers?”
“That‟s a great idea Katrina; and once he‟s finished that task, he will have released his anger and maybe he‟ll be ready to join you.”
“Or he may choose not to. We all felt having a purpose made all the difference in our lives, his purpose has been unclear in these past few months.”
“I feel better now. I‟ve always been your mentor. Now everyone including me seeks your council.” He looked at me in silence for a few seconds and then said. “I hope you‟re not taking on too much Katrina.”
“I also have purpose and the powers that be seem to think I can handle whatever I need to.”
“They‟ve chosen wisely. Well, I‟d better get back.”
“I‟ll be over to see the nursery tomorrow and El can check on Patty and baby G.C.”
Gunter laughed. “G.C.” I like it, see you tomorrow then.”

CHAPTER Fourteen
I took a detour to the stables to see Nulla and Theo. Theo was so restless until he saw me.
“Hey boy, it‟s all right,” I said as I stroked his beautiful black face. I could tell he had been pawing the ground in his stall and he was wet with sweat from pacing. It was obvious that he knew something was not right. It was making Nulla nervous as well.

“I‟ll have Gunter find some special to care for you Theo and after Nulla has….Knight. That‟s his name Knight, black and royal, perfect. Anyway, as soon as Nulla and Knight are strong enough I‟ll bring you and your family to America. Wait until you see it Theo, so much land to run. I‟ll get you dozens of mares and you‟ll rule the West, I promise.”

I continued to stroke him and scratch his neck and finally he calmed down and I felt him relax.
“Good boy, Theo. It‟s going to be all right, I‟ll make sure of it. Now, how about a good brushing?”
He tossed his head and a low whinny came from his throat.
The physical act of brushing him was calming for me as well and once he was dry, his eyes got droopy and I knew he‟d be fine. Nulla was sleepy too, so I left to go see Allwain at last.
The door opened. “Tao, Katrina,” cawed the mina. “Hello Tao, how are you?”
“Fine thank you, and you?” he said looking truly concerned and not just making conversation.
“I‟ll be all right, keeping busy helps. Where‟s Allwain.”
“He‟s taken a potion down to Valik, a truth potion. He kept a close watch on him while we were gone and then bound him with magic and took him to the dungeon. I had no idea Valik was capable of the betrayal. He‟s dishonored his entire family and all of the elves really.”
“It‟s not your fault Tao and let‟s give him the benefit of doubt until we know more.”
“It‟s very kind of you to say such things when it‟s very likely that he‟s the one that helped send you to the Keltan.”
“It‟s easy to find fault, much harder to find goodness, but I‟m determined to try.”
“I‟m even more shocked since getting to know you better, that the Keltan could send you back. I‟m not sure I could have made that decision if I were in his place.”
Maybe Damien had been right, he was attracted to me I thought, and I found him interesting and compelling at the same time.
“The Keltan wanted to be good, at least half of him did,” I laughed.
It felt awkward between us now and I didn‟t know what to say.
“I told Allwain I wanted you to stay in Sangustae, and he admonished me for not believing in your instincts so I apologize, please forgive me Katrina.”
“I understand Tao, and there‟s nothing to forgive. It wasn‟t my mission to stay, but to bring Hun Lee. Being in Sangustae was his destiny and he and Eric will return when their mission is complete and a new task is given to them. I guess I‟ll see Allwain tomorrow. I want to ask him about something.”
“I‟ll tell him, get some rest.”
“I will, goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” cawed the mina as the door opened for me. I was a little tired, but I‟d slept all day so instead of going back to my room, I went to the training grounds. I needed to relieve all my pent up emotion with a good hard work out.
The half full moon was straight overhead giving the grounds a silvery glow. It was just after midnight now and I was, of course, the only one around except for the occasional guard passing by.
I drew my sword and let it rest against my thigh. Closing my eyes I centered myself and slowed my breathing. I manufactured an enemy attack in my mind and began fighting them, twisting, turning and flipping my way through them one by one until finally satisfied, relaxed and focused again.
“That felt good,” I said to myself.
“It looked good too.”
“Quinn, how long have you been there?”
“Long enough to feel sorry for any enemy of yours; they won‟t stand a chance. Actually I couldn‟t sleep, so I thought I‟d go down to the lake for a swim, care to join me?”
“You know, that‟s the best offer I‟ve had for days, let‟s go.”
After stopping for an extra towel, we walked the short distance to the lake. The moon made the water sparkle. It was as if a million fire flies hovered above its surface.
“Remember how many times we snuck out when we were little and ran to this very spot?”
“I always let you win,” he laughed. “Sit, I‟ll help you with your boots.”
“Now we‟re heading into a new world together.”
“For someone who‟s destined to live a very long time, you sure have crammed a lot into a few short months,” he said as he pulled off first one and then the other of my boots.
“Someone once said „to whom much is given, much is expected‟.‟‟
“Given and taken.”
“Yes,” I said looking out across the water.

“Sarah is going to fuss about your hair again,” laughed Quinn as we walked out of the water and started to dry ourselves off.
“What‟s new?”
“I know she won‟t let you go without her this time,” he said as we finished dressing.
“I couldn‟t possibly get along without her anymore and all of us feel the same way,” I said as we started to walk back.
“You know it‟s been awhile since I‟ve seen you in your underwear. I quite enjoyed it.”
“Same here,” I said as we continued down the path leading us back.
That mischievous grin of his, I had really missed that.
“Gunter told me that you helped him make his decision about who to send to be Kate‟s watcher. It really took a lot of pressure off of him.”
“He was torn, but once we really thought about it together, it just made more sense. The three older brothers stay to train the new coven and the two youngest go with us.”
“He hasn‟t told the others yet. I am going to be sorry not to be here for the birth of my nephew.”
“You mean G.C.? That‟s what his aunty Katrina is going to call him.”
“Aunty Katrina huh?” he laughed as we got inside the gate.
“Quinn, thanks for asking me to go with you.”
“That‟s what best friends are for isn‟t it? Now you better get some rest.”
“You‟re right. I‟ll see you in the morning.”
I gave him a hug.
“I‟m glad we‟re going together Kat.”
“So am I Quinn, goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Max was in the hall.
“Are you early or late?” he asked.
“Late, goodnight Max.”
“My lady.”
“No more of that Max, just „Katrina‟ is fine all right? You‟ll have to get used to calling me that once we get to America.”
“I don‟t think that I can do that. How about Miss Katrina?”
“All right,” I sighed, “I can deal with that.”
Now I was starving again, I hoped there was something left out for me.
“Pastry and dried meat - perfect.”
As I sat eating, my mind wandered, the
engagement ring on my finger reflected the dim candlelight of the common room.
“I don‟t know when, but someday we‟ll be together again,” I thought, and then kissed the ring.
“I miss you,” I said with my mind.
There was no reply, just an empty lonely feeling.
“You’re right here, in my heart Damien.”
It was just a few hours until dawn when I finally fell asleep. Amazingly I awoke refreshed and even a little excited. Choosing the other young royals to join us in America was something I thought the Council would do. Now it was up to us to choose who was right for this moment. Today we would choose those that were to fulfill their destiny and see to the advancement of the vampire race.
I got up and quickly brushed my hair out again so Sarah wouldn‟t yell too much about it. Once I was dressed in training clothes, I went out to see who else was up.
“El, good, how are you this morning?”
“Excited, I can‟t wait to go to the library and start the process of finding new coven members. How about you? I waited up as long as I could last night, but I was so tired?”
“I went to the stables and for a swim with Quinn. I even worked out. I just wasn‟t ready to go to bed.”
“I‟m glad that you weren‟t alone, I was worried about you.”
“I‟m sorry, I didn‟t mean for you to be. I‟m all right, really.”
“Who are you trying to convince; me or you?”
Letta and Rosa joined us. They seemed as excited and ready to go as El and I.
“Good morning, did you sleep all right?”
“I did, and I hope this new project will keep my mind from thinking too much about other things.”
“We understand. Katrina, the Watchers have been asking us if they‟re going with us. Are they?”
“Yes, we‟ll need them even more in America. Everything is new and we‟ll need the extra protection as we won‟t have elite guard, after all and no castle walls.”
“What about Thomas?” El said looking
apprehensive.
“Gunter has decided that he‟s not ready, he‟s chosen Quinn and Avery for Kate and me. Thomas will stay and help Gunter train the new coven members and have a chance to come over later if that‟s still what you both want.”
“I don‟t know Kat, but I am relieved that it won‟t be my decision.”
“Is there anything to eat?” Kate said as she entered the room yawning and stretching.
“No, I told Sarah that we‟d go to the dining room since we were going to the library early anyway,” El said.
“Let‟s go then, I‟m starving,” Letta said turning towards the door.
“What‟s new?” laughed Rosa.
She was right, we were always hungry, because our metabolisms have been so fast or at least that‟s what Allwain told us anyway.
It was a beautiful morning full of sunshine, blue sky and a slight breeze. Avery was waiting in the courtyard.
“Good morning ladies. Gunter wanted to know if you would be working out today.”
We looked at each other and shrugged.
“Not a bad idea, but not until this afternoon, Avery.”
“El, are you going to check Patty today? Gunter is so happy and Mother said that the nursery is all ready. If you are, I‟d like to go over with you to see it?” Kate said.
“I guess we could all go after lunch, if it‟s all right with Patty. Will you check with Gunter, Avery? If no one minds, we‟ll see Patty and then have a work out.”
“Sounds good. I‟ll let him know, see you later.”
“He seems very cheerful this morning,” Rosa said as we continued across the courtyard.
“He‟s Kate‟s watcher from now on and he‟ll be going with us, I guess that‟s why,” El said?
We ate quickly; everyone wanted to get to our task.
“How long do you think it will take us to go through all of the profiles?” Letta asked as we walked the short distance to the library.
“It shouldn‟t be that bad. We should be done by lunch,” I said as we reached the library entrance.
What we saw when we entered stopped us in our tracks.
“Look at the stacks of papers on each table. We might be here a lot longer than we thought,” Letta said as we surveyed the entire library.
“Good morning ladies,” Andrew, Father‟s page said as he stepped from behind a rather large stack piled at the end of the center table. “The Baron has asked me to assist you in any way that I can; so please don‟t hesitate to ask.”
“Can you tell me how the profiles have been divided Andrew?” I asked trying to decide a plan of action.
“By region, by coven, and then by family,” he replied proudly.
“We had planned to go over each of them together, but now I think it‟s better if we each take a stack,” I said still looking around in amazement.
“We can quickly get a feeling for those we want to keep and look at them together for a final decision.” El said as she started towards the table to her right.
“Don‟t think about anything, just trust your instincts,” I said as each of us chose a table.
“Why are there so many, Andrew? I swear that there was nowhere near this many at council,” Kate said adjusting her chair and trying to get
comfortable.
“Your father decided to allow covens to nominate any worthy candidate, not just those of royal blood.”
“No wonder there are so many,” Letta said as she sat next to Kate.
“Well let‟s get started then. Andrew, we‟re going to need some refreshments,” I said walking to the far end and sitting behind one of the larger stacks of papers. I centered myself and could tell that the others were doing it as well. We were so in tune to each other now that it seemed that even our breathing was as one.
As I opened my eyes I took the first profile from the two foot high stack of papers to my left. I didn‟t look at the writing, just ran my fingers over it closing my eyes for a moment and using my gifts to make a judgment.
“Stay or go?” I asked simply. “Go.” came
immediately to my mind. Maybe it wouldn‟t take as long as we feared after all. As I looked around at the others, I could tell that they were thinking the same thing. Each of them were making two piles and moving quickly through their stacks.
We finished our first stacks in about ten minutes and moved to a second which we dispatched just as easily.
“Two more stacks each and we can start looking at them together,” I said confidently.
“Would you like to take a break? I‟ve mixed some crimson and Klaus sent fruit and cheese as well as some custard.”
“That sounds pretty good Andrew, but it really hasn‟t been that long since breakfast, not that we would let that stop us from eating again,” laughed Rosa.
“Once we finish going through these last two stacks each we‟ll take a break,” Kate said.
After another half an hour, we took Andrew up on that custard.
“That wasn‟t as bad as we thought, was it?” Letta said as she savored hers.
“We narrowed it down pretty quickly, by the looks of it less than a third made the cut,” El said. “We still might get over to see Patty before lunch.”
“Andrew, you can take the profiles that we didn‟t chose back where you got them. I don‟t want to get them mixed up.”
“Of course, is there anything else that I can do for you?”
“I can‟t think of anything, can anyone else?”
They all shook their heads no, so Andrew gathered a stack of the unneeded profiles and took them away.
“How do you want to do this Kat?” Letta asked as we stood around the center table.
“Again, I don‟t think we need to look at any details, just go by our instincts, they‟ve never let us down before.”
“Let‟s use the podium; we can easily stand around it together,” Kate said.
“Good idea, we‟ll just place each profile on the podium, place our hands on it and concentrate together,” El said as we moved the podium closer to the table now holding all the approved profiles.
“There, that should be close enough. We should take a few seconds to center ourselves again before we start.”
We held hands and closed our eyes until we felt relaxed and at peace. It didn‟t take us long to realize that each of the profiles that we had picked as individuals were accepted as a group as well. Not once did we reject a profile one of us had chosen.
“Did anyone count how many profiles there are left?”
“Ninety-nine,” Kate said.
Our first thought was that someone was missing.
“Maybe we should go over the other profiles again,” Letta said.
“No, if there is someone missing, they will present themselves in their own way.”
I took the ribbon from my hair and tied it around the stack of profiles.
“We‟ll deliver these to Father ourselves. He can contact them and have them come here for training.”
“All ninety nine?” said Kate her eyes wide.
“Maybe we should break them down into groups of thirty three,” El said.
“No, we can handle that many and I think they should get to know each other. This is a privilege, not a right and just because they got this far doesn‟t mean that they will make the final cut.”
“That‟s what I was feeling too,” Kate said.
“Gunter, Father, Allwain, Hun Lee and Eric will make the next decision, that‟s what I‟m feeling.”
We all agreed, so we delivered the profiles to Father.
“Father, these are the profiles that we handpicked.”
“Ninety-nine of them,” Kate added as we placed them on his desk.
“That didn‟t take long. I‟ll look them over and send word to each of them.”
“Their training should be close to being done when we get back.”
“We have our orders then; what are you girls up to now?”
“We‟re going to see Patty. El‟s going to make sure she and the baby are all right and we want to see the nursery,” Kate said excitedly.
“Will we see you at dinner?”
“That sounds nice, see you then Father.”
We left and headed over to Gunter and Patty‟s, which is across the training compound. Their home was a lovely cottage surrounded by flowers and a small vegetable and herb garden.
“It always makes me smile, I love this little cottage with its curved stone path and garden, it reminds me a little of Magnus and Brigitta‟s,” Letta said breathing in deeply to take in the perfume of the garden.
“Mmmm, smells like lunch.”
Knock, knock, knock.
“Girls, I‟m so glad you‟re here. I hope you haven‟t had lunch. I have soup, fresh bread and black berry cobbler.”
“You don‟t have to ask us twice, thank you Patty,” Letta said as we entered the cottage.
“You look terrific, how are you feeling?”
“A little tired, but Allwain has given me an elixir full of vitamins and I‟m sleeping well.”
“Let the others serve lunch Patty, let‟s go in the back bedroom so I can check you and the baby,” El said and then followed Patty into the back.
We filled bowls with vegetable beef soup, which smelled divine, sliced the still warm bread and slathered it with homemade butter and strawberry jam.
A few minutes later Patty waddled back out into the kitchen with a big smile on her face.
“We‟re both fine,” she declared.
“Better than fine, they‟re great, but I think the due date will be earlier that we first thought, probably the end of October or early November instead.”
“The midwife has been by several times, she assures me everything will be fine. I don‟t want any of you to worry about us while you‟re gone.”
“Patty, that‟s so sweet, we‟ll be back as soon as we can. With these new steam ships we can be back in a few weeks instead of months.”
“But eventually you‟ll be living there, isn‟t that true,” she said as she sat down to eat.
That was the first time we really thought of it that way and it startled us a little.
“That is the plan, but all of our families are here so we‟ll be back often to visit.”
“This meal is wonderful, and like usual we‟re starving,” El said as she sat down next to Patty.
“I‟m used to cooking big meals. All of Gunter‟s brothers have quite an appetite.”
I could see tears welling up in her eyes.
“We all miss them Patty.”
“It‟s just that now I‟ll be missing two more. Quinn and Avery are going with you.”
“But Patty, you‟re going to have the baby. He‟s going to take up most of your time,” Rosa said.
“That‟s right; soon you‟ll be glad that we took away two big appetites,” Letta laughed.
“That was a great lunch, but I can‟t wait a second longer to see the new nursery.”
“Elizabeth and I had so much fun putting everything in place, wait until you see,” Patty said as we helped her up and let her lead the way. She was beaming as she opened the door; which was right off the sitting room.
“Oh it‟s just beautiful.” We all gasped as we looked around. The smooth plaster walls were painted a very light blue, and oak crib sat against the longest wall, it was covered with a soft blue and white checked wool flannel bedding. The window covering matched and next to it sat a rocking chair with a fluffy white pillow and cushion. The light wooden floor had a beautiful hand tufted blue and red wool rug and a small three drawer dresser filled the wall opposite the crib. The entire top of it was covered with brand new baby clothes and knitted booties.
“Oh look!” El said excitedly pointing to the corner next to the door.
“It was a gift from Damien; he brought it over the night before he left,” Patty said softly.
There by the door sat a black wooden rocking horse with a real horse hair mane and tail. It looked just like Theo. Tears streamed down my face I couldn‟t help it.
“I‟m sorry Katrina.”
“No, no, it‟s beautiful and so thoughtful of him. I just miss him that‟s all.”
Patty gave me a hug and we all went back into the sitting room again.
“Elizabeth gave me the rug and bedding and most of the new clothes, the boys made all the furniture.”
“Well it‟s just beautiful. Expect some gifts to arrive from America,” Rosa said.
“That‟s going to be one spoiled little man with so many aunts and uncles fussing over him.”
“It‟s been a wonderful time for me. I don‟t have any family myself. I grew up at the mission orphanage until your father took some of us in. Now my family is growing by the day. I love you all so much.”
“We love you too,” I said hugging her again.
“We‟d better go before we all start crying again,” Kate said as she started for the door.
“When are you leaving for America?”
“Tomorrow,” we all said at once.
“We promised Gunter we‟d go work out after our visit with you, so we had better get going. Thank you for lunch, Patty.”
“You‟re welcome, stay safe and we‟ll both see you when you get back,” she said rubbing her belly.
We each gave her one more hug.
“Goodbye, G.C., be a good boy.” I whispered to him as my turn came.
We had a great work out and wore the brothers completely out.
“I‟m sorry that I can‟t go with you now, but Gunter can‟t spare me,” Thomas said.
“We know that you‟re needed to train the new coven members, Thomas.”
He seemed happy and Gunter gave me a wink. He had purpose now; it was just what he needed.
“Gunter, I need someone other than the grooms to exercise Theo. He needs someone who really cares about him.”
“I‟ll take care of it Katrina.”
“If you could, also arrange to buy some mares of the best bloodline available for him. I plan to bring them to America next summer.
“Eric can help me with that when he gets back; Fresians are from his country after all.”
“Good, Thank you Gunter. I‟ll want some German warm blood mares like Nulla as well.”
“So you‟re leaving in the morning then?”
“Yes as long as everything is ready,” I said as we walked across the compound.
“We‟ll miss you. All of you.”
“Well I‟ll miss you too, but it‟s not like we‟re never coming back you know and you‟re going to be a very busy man while we‟re gone.”
“I know, they won‟t need the intense training you‟re getting of course, but they still must be able to work together to protect the coven.”
“You‟re captain of the Watchers; their Watchers will have to be assessed as well. I also expect you to “watch” these young vampires. If you in anyway think any of them is not worthy, we need to know before they are sent across the sea. Our existence depends upon us making the right judgments now.”
“I understand and I take my job very seriously.”
“Tell me something I don‟t know; there‟s no one I trust more.”
I could see the pride in his eyes, the beautiful blue Voss eyes all the brothers possessed.
“I‟ll see you in the morning girls,” he said as he turned to tend to his duties.
“Look, isn‟t that Mother in the courtyard?” Kate said.
“Mother!” we called and waved.
“I have a surprise for the five of you,” she said as she happily clapped her hands together. “I made some inquires of my own about the latest fashions in New York as well as other cities in America and had nice things made for you. They‟ve just arrived, would you like to see them?”
We could see that she could hardly contain her excitement, so we couldn‟t very well decline.
We followed her into the reception room where we found racks of dresses, one long rack for each of us.
“Well don‟t just stand there, go look.”
Our names were on the front of each rack.
“Amazing Mother, this must have taken months.”
“I started right after your birthdays when you talked about dresses that would hide your weapons, but still give you access to them. I know you also mentioned that wearing your training outfits created quite a stir, so I had riding outfits made as well as simple dresses.”
“Mother these are amazing, thank you so much,” Kate said as she hugged her.
“If you like them, I‟ll see that they‟re packed for you.”
We all agreed that we loved them, so soon trunks arrived and the clothing was neatly packed away and loaded onto wagons already being readied for our departure.
“I‟m so glad that you‟re here Mother, Father won‟t be alone after we leave.”
“I should have come back years ago, I‟m sorry for that now. I didn‟t get enough time with you, Katrina.”
“There‟s time Mother, I promise. I hope you‟ll visit us when we get settled. I know you‟d love New York.”
“If I can talk your father into it we will, he‟s seems very worried about the goings on in Germany right now.”
“You‟re very persuasive Mother, I‟m confident you can convince him.” I laughed.
“Now, how are you really?” she said as she walked me outside.
“I have my bad moments, but I have a lot to do and that helps. Damien made me promise that if anything were to happen to him I was to continue to do what I knew I needed to.” I looked at her. “And that‟s what I‟m doing.”
“I‟ll help as much as I can, we all will.”
“I know, it‟s just that I feel we need to be ready, something is coming in the near future that will make fighting Luena seem like child‟s play, we need to be prepared.”
“That sounds ominous Katrina.”
“It‟s why we were brought together. If we can prevent it we will; if we can‟t we‟ll fight.”
“I‟m just glad you‟re on our side, that‟s all I have to say. Don‟t let your guard down, darling. Evil forces have already tried many times to take you.”
“I will. On a lighter note, Patty and the baby are fine and the nursery is adorable.”
“I enjoyed doing it. Someday I hope to decorate one for my grand children.”
“Ha, you‟ll have a long wait, but yes someday.”
“Someday what?” Kate asked as she joined us.
“Oh mother wants grand children.”
“Grand children! Mother really.”
“Just a thought.”
“You‟ll have to be content with G.C. for now, practice on him.”
“All right,” she said. “Let‟s try a new subject. What would you like for dinner? I‟ve arranged for some special entertainment.”
“Tender roast beef with Klaus‟ special wine sauce,” Kate said licking her lips.
“Dessert,” I added.
“Nothing new,” she laughed. “I‟m sure that Klaus has already thought of that. What time would you like to eat?”
“Early please.”
“How about six thirty then?”
“That sounds fine. Sarah has everything packed and she ordered us to be in bed early.”
“I wish we could take our bath tubs,” Rosa sighed.
“I‟m sure you‟ll survive somehow,” Letta chuckled.
“I need to go and see Allwain. I‟ll see you back at our rooms.”
I felt apprehensive as I approached the laboratory and I didn‟t know why.
“Katrina‟s here,” cawed the mina as the door opened.
“Ah Katrina, come in, come in. Tao get Katrina some tea, please.
Tao bowed slightly and left the room. I now felt strange having him wait on me, knowing that he was a prince.
“I‟m glad you‟re here Katrina, I need to speak with you.”
“I was here last night, but you were busy.”
He looked at me solemnly. “Luena is free, has been for some time.”
“What! And the Keltan?”
“With her it seems. It doesn‟t mean….”
“I was lucky,” I shook my head. “I got him to let me go.”
“Luck had nothing to do with it, you know that. I just wanted you to be aware. You may have to fight him again. As far as Luena is concerned, I can‟t find her, but I‟m sure she will stop at nothing to succeed in her quest…”
“…to turn the humans first against each other and then against all peaceful races.”
“Yes.”
“That‟s why I was feeling so uneasy as I
approached the laboratory. What are you going to do with Valik? Tao was very upset with the dishonor he‟s brought upon his people.”
“He‟s already been dealt with,” Allwain said as he turned away.
I knew what that meant. Just then Tao came in with the tea.
“Thank you, Tao. Allwain, are you preparing to train the new coven members?”
“We are as prepared as we can be. I know you want to ask me something Katrina, what is it?”
I looked at Tao and he instinctively took his leave.
“I have this feeling about Damien.”
“He can‟t be with you, that‟s all I know,” he said without turning, but continuing to fuss with his potions.
“So you‟re saying you can feel his essence?”
He hesitated and turned towards me then seemingly unsure.
“It‟s weak, but yes I feel it.”
“I can‟t help him, can I?”
“It‟s not your destiny, he follows a new path.”
“A path that someday will lead him back to me,” I thought.
“I had to ask.”
“I know, you must stay focused, Katrina. I‟ve packed plenty of crimson tablets. I‟ll train chemists for each of the covens, and then they will take on apprentices.”
“Protect my family, Allwain. Whatever Luena is planning, part of it will be to destroy them.”
“I promise I‟ll keep them safe even if I have to take them into hiding.”
“It also means finding safe haven for everyone in my family.”
“I understand, don‟t worry.”
“I feel better now, is there anything else before I go?”
“Don‟t be lulled by times of peace, establish the covens and keep training. Follow your instincts, learn, serve and prepare. You also need to live your life, Katrina. Fill it with your passions and don‟t forget that Damien wanted you to go on. For you it means keeping your heart open to love again.”
“It won‟t be the same.”
“No, no it won‟t. Children aren‟t the same either, but parents love each of them just as much. Just be open, that‟s all I‟m saying.”
“I understand, thank you for everything Allwain.”
“I‟m honored to serve, speak with me from time to time will you?”
“Of course, now I‟d better get back or Sarah will be over here looking for me.”
“You‟re right,” he laughed, “And I don‟t want to be blamed. She‟s not someone that you want angry with you.”
“I‟ll see you in the spring.”
He bowed slightly and I turned to leave.
“Katrina, we love you,” cawed the mina. “Goodbye.”
After the door closed behind me I sensed someone in the hall.
“Tao, what is it?”
“I can‟t let you leave without….”
I stepped closer to him as his head bowed I reached up and touched his face.
“Tao….” he felt cool and I could feel his blue blood coursing through his veins. His heart was pounding and his breathing quickened.
I pulled myself to him and embraced him. After a few seconds he returned the embrace running his hands up my back and into my hair. He took in a breath as if trying to imprint my scent onto his memory.
“Katrina,” he whispered.
“I know, but I won‟t be gone forever.”
“I wish that I could go with you.”
“Your mission is here Tao, it‟s how you‟re helping me.”
He pushed back away from me.
“I don‟t wish to just help you,” he said looking deep into my eyes searching for any sign I could feel the same way.
“I just lost Damien Tao…”
He stopped my words with a kiss, one that both surprised me and took my breath away. I couldn‟t return the passion, but I did my best not to ruin this moment for him. I liked him very much after all. The kiss ended and I could feel him tense and start to pull away. I wouldn‟t let him regret this moment. I pulled him back to me.
“Thank you, Tao,” I whispered.
We stood quietly just holding each other for several minutes. Then I softly kissed his cheek and moved back.
His eyes were sad. I placed the palm of my right hand on his face. He closed his eyes and leaned into it. With my thumb I caressed his lips. They were still warm and moist with the dew from our kiss. I raised my left hand to his other cheek, his eyes opened and our gaze locked as I kissed him one last time. A short loving kiss; after which I turned and walked away.
I need to hunt. I need to run, use all my senses let out the pure vampire inside me and make a kill.
I walked with determination towards the front gate.
“Katrina, where are you going? Katrina!” Quinn called after me, but I couldn‟t acknowledge him right now.
Within seconds the girls were at my side,
instinctively knowing what I needed and before the gate fully opened we raced out and into the woods.
At top speed, wind on my face adrenaline pumping through my veins, my skin tingled, and my heart was racing. I took a deep breath and found a very large stag running a half mile ahead of me, smaller males and females racing behind him.
I could have taken him down with ease, but I needed the chase so I slowed my pace. Then with a burst of speed I was in front of him and as he jumped over me I grabbed him by the neck and pulled him to the ground piercing his neck and filling the emptiness inside of me with his life‟s blood.
“That was intense,” Kate said as she finished draining a young buck, wiping her lips with the back of her sleeve.
We were all breathing hard, our faces flushed with excitement and the fresh blood that now pulsed through our veins. We realized that neither tablet, nor any drink would fully satisfy us. We were predators.
We needed blood to survive and we wouldn‟t apologize for it or try to explain it away. The huntress within each of us would always be there. We killed not for pleasure, not for pride, but for our existence. We lived like all carnivores do. I would never deny it, never be ashamed of it, this was who we were, VAMPIRES!

Elizabeth Loraine

About the Author

I always knew I was supposed to write a book someday and after I complete the first one (Katrina – the Beginning) I found that the characters voices I heard in my head lead to outlines for at least 6 more books. Book Three of the series “The Dark Prince” should be out soon.

I have been a lifelong fantasy fiction fan and for years devoured books that depicted vast worlds, populated by heroic characters. But a particular focus of my reading enjoyment for many, many years has been vampires and vampire lore. My passion for the subject you could say has spanned the „Bellas‟; from portrayals of them by Bella Lugosi to books about them featuring Bella Swan.

Although I found their world exciting, filled with romance and adventure, somehow at‘The End’, I always wanted to know more. Vampires after all, are well known to be long lived; where had they come from; where had they been; what had they done; what had then seen? I longed to know their timeline and history.

From that curiosity and those questions, my creative side picked up a pen and a notebook and out came The Royal Blood Chronicles. These books feature young, strong, self reliant, intelligent, interesting woman as lead characters. No wimpy women victims allowed here.

Continue following Katrina. Enjoy her vampire past and look forward the exploits in her future.
Royal Blood Chronicles: Katrina the Beginning– August 2010 The Protectors The Dark Prince Cain, the Quest September 2010 November 2010 January 2010
Elizabeth Loraine
Cast of Character

Katrina and Katherine Von Dracek
Father Fredrik Mother Elizabeth Clan-German Damien Daminov
Father Petrovich Mother Daniela Clan-Austria Luena Daminov
Father Petrovich Mother Antoinette Clan-Austria Eleanor Flanery Father Edward Mother - Unkn -England Rosalinda DiPalicio Father Michael Mother Unkn - Italy Arletta Valdesio Father Ricardo Clan-Spain
Gerhardt Bistadeau Father Philepe Mother Marie Chartelain Clan -France
Eric Wilheilm Father Magnus Mother Brigitta, Brother Carl (died, clan wars) Clan - Denmark
Hun Lee Lui Father Chen Lui, Mother Lui Lee Clan-Asia Kale Gelf Father Gustav, Mother Cristina Clan-Denmark Chander (Chan) Father Momar Tantee Clan – Clan-Africa Vikings Sven Arenkeil Father Axel Mother Unknown Clan - Baltic/Norway
Demitrie Devorak Father Marcus Clan- Romania Allwain - Lord of the Wizards
Sarah- Katrina‟s hand maiden and confidant
Klaus – Katrina‟s long time cook
Johan - Kate‟s friend in the sanctuary (Sangustae) Allwain‟s Elven apprentices

Tao: Mother Queen Norah, sister Saolin
Valik
Keltans Raven (good) Durik (evil)
American Clan of New Orleans
Brothers Petroph and Janko Vasa Clan - Sweden
Devin and Stephan Wahl (the cousins) Location - Boston
Devin‟s girlfriend- Victoria
Nathaniel (good)Vancouver Clan
Constantine the Wizard helping Luena
Watchers:
The Voss brothers Gunter (w Patty), Thomas, Cedrik(d) Gregor (d), Avery, Quinn

Rosa‟s Watcher Mac El‟s Watcher Leo (d) Damien‟s Watcher Ivan
Tina the Mina Bird
(d) death occurring in prior book