Chapter 22 Amar was healing very well, that was an extraordinary relief. Not once had he asked to

stop or even taken up her recommendation that they stayed behind in a small village to let him

have a chance to rest and heal. He reminded her, pointedly as always in his cold off handed

manner, that they had a long journey and were on a race for time. They had no idea how long

Alain would be held up with the Summoners but at any time she could be done and then where

would she go? Either Troll Mountain or Death Valley. One north, one south.

For them there could only be one choice. They had unanimously decided that trying to

get the orb from the Summoners was out of the question. They were no match for Alain and it

was best to not take chances. And the route to Troll Mountains passed right through the area.

They opted to head south, avoiding that vicinity and heading onto the next orb.

Of course it was a two week journey to reach it by foot and even then there was one more

place that they had to contend with: Skull Forest. Amar and Kriss both reassured her that they

had been through both locales before and despite the demon infestation it should not be anything

that they couldn’t handle.

“Maxine. Maxine! You aren’t listening again,” Kriss’s voice broke into her thoughts.

She started and peered down at him. “O-oh! I’m sorry, Kriss. No, I was paying attention,

really.”

“No, you weren’t. You did the same thing again where you start staring at Amar and then

completely tune out.”

She felt herself redden at least fifty different shades and prayed that Amar hadn’t heard

from where he was walking several feet in front of them. “I don’t know what you’re talking

about. Shut up,” she snapped at him. There was nothing wrong with her looking at Amar, she

told herself. She was just worried about him. He did get stabbed and then was almost shocked to

death – all for her. He had also been there for her every time she had woken up from a nightmare

trying to recover from the mental anguish of having killed someone.

The first time it had happened, he had lain beside her, and the two of them had talked all

night long about his father and what he had gone through with his family after. Subsequent

nights afterwards their conversations had went to other areas of both of their lives. He was still

cold and could be very snippy and was overly pessimistic, but underneath it all she could feel

how much he cared about things and it was fun talking to him. He could relate to her. He didn’t

look at her with pity when she talked to him about being an orphan and understood what it felt

like to have everyone turn their backs on you. The only difference between them was that she

had met Morkoth but Amar had had no one.

“Heads up, guys,” Amar called out over his shoulder. “The Forest is finally in sight.”

Maxine was slammed back into reality and raced up the hill where he was standing, eager

for her first look at Skull Forest. In all honesty she had been expecting something along the lines

of the Fairy Woods. A dense population of trees with thick overgrowth and a mysterious feeling

about it. How could anything be creepier than that? She was wrong. The Forest that she stared

down into now was like something that had crawled out of a nightmare. The trees looked sickly

and decaying, twisting up to the sky in gnarled forms. The undergrowth looked vicious and

unwieldy, and this place just felt… evil.

“You’ve been through there before? Why? What would possess you to ever enter such a

place?”

“Why not?” Kriss asked with a wide smirk, shouldering his bow that he had purchased in

a village they had passed through. “Just think of all the treasure in a place like that! All the

places you might find something exciting. I’ve heard that several bandit gangs use to make this

place their hideout.”

“I did it for the training and the ingredients. If you want to please Hecate, there’s nothing

better than a bit of this and that of demon parts.”

“What sort of demons are in there?” she asked nervously.

Amar shrugged carelessly. “Just generic simple things. I’m sure there’s worse if you get

off of the main path that goes through, but I’ve run into a few skeletal monsters, some sort of

pig-like thing with sharp teeth, a few overly large spiders about as big as me.”

“Harpies!” Kriss shouted excitedly.

“How the hell did you run into harpies?” Amar demanded looking over at him.

Kriss replied with a mischievous smile. “I went into a cave searching for a magical

artifact and found a whole nest of them.”

Amar rolled his eyes skyward and pointed to him. “Like I said,” he said to her, “if you

get off the main path and you are going to run into more dangerous things, obviously.”

“But aren’t demons attracted to the scent of humans?” she asked.

“I guess, but then if that were the case then I think the demons inside those woods

wouldn’t be living in the woods, would they? They would leave and go search out humans.

Relax, Maxine. You’re going to be fine.”

The fact that Amar was optimistic about this was highly reassuring, she thought. Amar

was never optimistic about anything. He started down the hill towards the Forest. “The rules are

simple. Stick to the path. We sleep on the path, even. We will also keep a watch – and certain

people will not just go wandering this time,” he said giving her a pointed look reminding her of

the Fairy Woods and her misadventure. “Things will be scary inside and if you think you see

something weird, even if you aren’t sure, just wake the others up. I would rather miss a few

hours of sleep for nothing than sleep and never wake up again.”

“Agreed,” Kriss said behind her. “And no fires, either.”

Amar chuckled at that. “Yeah, definitely no fires. We’ll stick to some light orbs, but

things don’t react very well to light inside. Might as well put a sign around our necks saying

‘here we are, come eat me.’”

They arrived at the edge of the forest and the three looked around at each other. “We

ready?” he asked them.

Kriss was experimenting with his bow string, already nocking an arrow. “I’ll take the

rear,” he said. “Maxine, you control the Light Orb so that way it keeps magic free for Amar since

you’ve got that endless supply thing going on that I mentioned before.”

“Sounds fair,” she agreed. “I’m ready when you guys are.”

They nodded amongst each other before Amar turned around taking the lead.

The forest was as dark inside as it looked from the outside. It was as if the tree tops ate

the light from above, swallowing it whole, preventing anything from coming through down to

them. From the time they entered she was constantly on edge, searching for anything that might

hurt them, her eyes analyzing ever single bush and tree.

“You’re like a cat right now afraid of your own shadow,” Amar shot back at her. “Relax

a little. I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you, and neither is Kriss.”

“All the same, if I can notice the danger myself that would be more convenient for the

two of you so you aren’t having to watch out for me. Nothing wrong with me trying to protect

you is there?”

Amar snickered at that. “A little.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

“Generally it’s usually the guy’s responsibility to protect the girl, not the other way

around.”

“Sexist,” she accused him. “A girl can do all the same things as a guy.”

He turned around and gave her a withering look with a raised eyebrow. “Guys are not the

same as girls and just because I point out the differences doesn’t make me sexist.” He reached

out and took her hand pulling her up to walk beside him. “Now, calm down. Your nerves are so

tight it’s making me feel exhausted just watching you.” He turned back around, threading his

fingers through hers and continued to walk ahead with her beside him.

She stared down at his hand feeling heat rising to her cheeks, but she didn’t pull away.

Her heart pounded a little and she picked up her pace trying to keep up with him. It worked, she

thought privately. Suddenly she wasn’t so afraid, her thoughts no longer on the forest around

them.

She heard a soft giggle and looked over her shoulder at Kriss, giving him a dark glare.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded.

“Nothing,” he said waving his hand, his wings fluttering, a knowing smile on his face.

“Nothing at all.”

She turned away from him ignoring him, holding her head up, not allowing Kriss to ruin

this moment for her.

It was hard to tell the passage of time in the forest. There was no visible sight of light of

any sort. So the only way they had to tell was how tired they were feeling. They ate a light dinner

of the dried meats and cheeses they had in their bags and crashed out on the dirt path, Maxine

creating blankets and pillows for everyone with her powers. Kriss had already told her that this

was definitely her best use of magic yet that they had discovered. Both boys agreed unanimously

that Maxine should take the first watch because it was the least dangerous of all the others. It was

difficult judging the flow of time, waking up Amar when she thought enough hours had passed.

Yawning, he pulled his cloak tight around him and sat up against a tree, almost blending in with

it in the darkness, making it hard for her to see him.

She wasn’t too sure how much time she had gotten to sleep when she felt Amar waking

her up, shaking her roughly. “Get up,” he hissed in her ear. “And don’t make a noise.”

Something in his voice made her blood run cold and she did as he told her and watched as

he went over to wake up Kriss. The small sprite woke up easily, ready and alert. “What’s going

on?” he asked softly reaching for his bow and arrows.

“Wraith,” Amar answered simply.

Maxine’s felt herself pale and Kriss’s eyes widened. “How?!” he hissed, keeping his

voice low. “Those things stay to the middle of the forest. Two humans and a sprite are no

amusement for one of those things.”

“The hell if I know, but I saw it in the thick of the woods. I think there are two, but I

couldn’t confirm.”

“Two?!”

“We’re moving. Now. I don’t know if they’re here for us, but I’m not sticking around to

find out.”

“Agreed,” Kriss said.

“W-w-what are we going to do?” Maxine asked nervously, fearing starting to overcome

her.

“Getting out here,” Amar repeating himself, crossing over to her. He grabbed her sword

at her side and unsheathed it forcing it into her hands. “Last resort. You defend yourself, but you

stay behind me and Kriss. Wraiths don’t go down easily. They are more resistant to magic than

normal. Do not let them touch you.”

She swallowed and nodded, reaching deep and drawing out her courage. “I’m not just

going to stand by and do nothing, though, Amar. I can help.”

He opened his mouth to argue but stopped and shook his head. “You never listen to me

anyways,” he said sourly. “Fine, but be careful, dammit, and when I tell you to do something,

please listen.”

He brushed past her and took off down the path at a run with her following and Kriss

taking up the rear. It was several minutes before Maxine caught her first sight of one of the

wraiths in the distance, lost within the trees. At first it was just a light. A strange ethereal looking

white glow, completely formless, but the longer she stared at it the more it took shape, and then

it winked out of existence. Moments later it reappeared at another location. Like that it traveled

along beside them, now and again she would see it vanish, but just before it had completely

disappeared it would already be reappearing. Like Amar she wondered suddenly if it were two

wraiths that they were seeing.

“Bastards are definitely chasing us,” Kriss said. “No doubt about it now.”

“I can’t understand it,” Amar growled. “Wraiths should have no interest in us. They go

after things like elves and dwarves, goblins and other demons. Humans should have no interest

for it.” He turned to Kriss. “Have they ever given you a problem before?”

“Of course not,” Kriss snapped at him. “I’ve never even seen a wraith before today

except what I’ve seen in text books.”

“Maybe it’s me,” Maxine said softly, somehow knowing it in her heart.

“I told you,” Amar snapped at her over his shoulder, “they aren’t interested in humans.”

“I’m not a human, Amar!” she shot back at him loudly, louder than she meant. “I’m…

I’m just a mass of magic. That’s what Remus said.”

Amar skidded to a halt his eyes widening looking back out at the wraiths and then down

at Kriss. “You know, in the stories about Drakkar there was one thing that I always thought was

weird.”

“And what was that?” Kriss asked, huffing and panting hard.

“Most of the time demons found him.” He looked over his shoulder at her, looking her

over. “But demons eat fate. What do they care about magic?”

“Maybe the same reason that druids are interested in Maxine,” Kriss suggested. “Maybe

she just as huge influence on fate for some reason. Either way, you don’t think that we just made

a mistake.”

“Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to bring you in here after all,” Amar said softly,

staring back out into the woods. “If there’s something about that calls out – crap!” he screamed.

One minute he was staring out into the woods searching for the wraiths, the next one of

the creatures were barely an inch away from him. With a scream Amar backed up, losing his

footing and falling hard on his butt.

Maxine went to rush to his side, but suddenly a wraith was standing there in front of her –

an arm already outstretched to touch her. She screamed and jerked back, instantly slashing out at

it with her sword. It was gone before the blade made contact.

“Maxine!” Kriss shouted. “Behind you!”

She spun around already weaving together a spell with a single thought and releasing it.

Fire slammed into the pale white of the demon and it erupted into flame. The creature winked out

of existence taking her fire with it. Spinning around she found that the demon beside Amar was

already floating towards her.

The wraiths were unlike any creature she had ever seen. Ghost like in appearance she

could see straight through them. She could easily see the features of what looked to once have

been a human with deep sunken eyes and strong cheek bones, male like in appearance, even with

hair on their heads, but she could easily the skeletons that made them up as if they were made of

transparent flesh. They were clothed in black robes without feet that she could discern.

“Maxine!” Kriss shouted. “Duck!”

Without needing further instructions she hit the dirt. An arrow went whizzing over her

head seconds later, passing through the wraith as disappearing in the trees. The wraith flickered

for a moment before disappearing completely. She jumped back up to her feet and rushed over,

pulling Amar off the ground and pulling him back into a run again, Kriss following after. “Don’t

stop!” she shouted as they took off again down the path. “Anyone got any ideas?” she asked

desperately.

“Not a single one,” Amar shouted. “I never fought one of these things before. They’re

already dead, so I’m not sure what use my magic is going to be – my patron Elemental is Death.”

Lovely, she thought sourly. Now what?

They raced through the forest and broke out of a set of trees following the path and

suddenly found themselves in a clearing. She skidding to a halt her heart freezing in her chest.

Standing in the middle of the clearing were at least forty or so of the same strange white glows. It

was like a small army of wraiths, just standing there… waiting….

“Oh fuck!” Amar gasped. “This is not normal.”

“Oh dear stars,” Kriss whimpered. “W-what should we do?”

Maxine gripped her sword tightly, fear coursing through her. She turned to maybe run

back onto the path where they had just come from, but stopped dead at the sight of the two

wraiths standing there, barring their way back. She looked across to the trees, but she wasn’t sure

of their chances, the undergrowth was so thick.

“Stand and fight?” Kriss asked. “I say we concentrate our efforts on the back two and try

to cut an opening through and get the hell out of here.”

Amar raised his pole and unsheathed his knife. “Sounds about right.” He took a deep

breath and rushed at one of them, slashing at it with his knife. It winked away and reappeared a

moment later in front of her. Instinctively she jerked her sword upwards and diagonal, cutting

across the wraith. It winked away and suddenly was back when she was done, its hand reaching

her face this time.

She screamed as pain flared through her body at the touch. The hand felt so powerfully

cold and it sent that feeling through the whole of her, burning her insides, taking all of her heat.

She collapsed to the ground her energy gone with it, goose bumps raising all over her skin. She

reached up to try to pull the hand away from her, but Amar screamed at her. “No! Don’t touch it,

Maxine!”

Barely seconds later Amar was there, whacking at the hand with his pole, spinning it

around and trying to cut into the wraith with the knife-end of his pole. The wraith disappeared,

but the cold spreading through her body was not so quick to vanish.

“Get up!” Amar shouted at her.

She responded with a groan, unable to move, sitting there shivering, lost in a world of

cold pain. “Get up!” Amar barked at her again and this time he reached down and jerked her up

to her feet. She fell into his arms, her knees giving out immediately, and he held her close to him,

turning and trying to carry her out of there. “A little help, Kriss!” he shouted, a wraith appearing

before him. An arrow whizzed through the air, and the wraith disappeared. Amar managed to

take a few steps, Kriss rushing to join them, when suddenly more wraiths appeared before them.

Amar spun around, but even looking around herself she could see nothing but wraiths. They had

them surrounded on all sides. She couldn’t even see the forest through the body of wraiths.

She hugged Amar tightly wishing for some way to get them out of this, already starting to

weave as strong as spell as she could, not sure if this would work.

A strange sound echoed through the forest and everyone stopped, including the wraiths.

As one the wraiths turned and looked out towards the forest, the sound getting louder. It was a

series of very loud, very human sound of whooping and hollering.

There was a sudden shift in the wraith’s behavior. They shifted, winking out of existence

and appearing elsewhere – it did little good. Vicious claws suddenly started to slice into the

wraiths, as large beasts jumped and tore into them, some of them jumping out of the trees and

into the clearing, landing directly on the wraiths. Maxine watched as one sailed over her and

landed on one, sinking its teeth into the neck one of the wraiths, tearing at it like a dog, but the

creature that was on it was very human. When it turned around and met her eyes she was floored.

It looked human, but instead of white eyes with color, its eyes were blood red with dark black

vertical slits. Its mouth was open revealing two sharp blood stained fangs, and hands that were

clawed. The creature licked its lips gave her a wide smile and spun away.

“Kill them all, boys!” he whooped. “The moron that lets one escape will be on cleaning

duty for the next year!”

There was a loud whooping cheer of agreement from the newcomers.

“Vampires?” Amar whispered in her ear. He stepped back, looking over his shoulder

towards the woods.

“Impossible,” Kriss said. “Vampires are in Death Valley and they keep to themselves.”

“Clearly the ordinary is not what we’re getting tonight,” Amar muttered angrily.

“Maxine, can you get get your legs under you?” he asked gently.

She tried again, her body was throbbing from the intense cold, her cheek had now fallen

into a state of perpetual stinging. “I-I-I think so,” she answered, shivering hard and trying it. She

nodded when she had managed it and Amar took and pulled her towards the forest. “Let’s get the

hell out of here before those creatures decide that we look more appetizing than the wraiths.”

They had almost made it too before three wraiths appeared before them, still hell bent on

trying to reach her. A vampire appeared, roaring as he sliced into them. He whirled on them and

Maxine thought for a moment he was going to attack. “Don’t move!” he ordered. “Navir! Stand

with this stupid Elemental and make sure he doesn’t do anything reckless!”

“A little late for that, don’t you think?” a vampire said with a laugh, joining him from out

of the pack. Maxine shrunk back with a groan. ‘Navir’ seemed to the biggest vampire in the

whole group as far as she could tell. Though that wasn’t saying much considering that most of

them were on the stick-lean side.

The other vampire didn’t respond, jumping back into the fray, Navir looking around,

flexed his claws, daring any wraiths to come near. At one point he turned and looked at her, an

eyebrow raised. “Damn, you do smell delicious, don’t you?”

Maxine went weak in the knees again barely managing to keep herself upright, tightening

her grip on her sword. Amar stared across at her and then at Kriss. He licked his lips and she

watched as his grip on his pole tightened and he called out to the Threads around him. The

vampire turned to him. “Try it, boy, and I’ll rip out your throat before you even mutter the first

word of that spell.”

Kriss looked up at Amar and shook his head. Amar swallowed and agreed reluctantly,

releasing his grip on the magic he was holding onto. Maxine sunk into herself, praying for a

miracle.

Chapter 23 The vampires made quick work of the wraiths and as far as she could tell, not a single

one did escape. She cringed at the sight of the vampires congratulating each other, some licking

their claws clean, others wiping their mouths on the backs of their hands. It wasn’t long before

all eyes turned to the three of them and circled around them, closing off any chance they might

have had of escape, though after watching how fast they moved, Maxine doubted their chances

even if they had managed to get into the woods.

Navir stepped away joining the ring with the others, licking his mouth. He was drooling

Maxine realized with dread. He turned to the vampire that had commanded him to stay. “I know

you warned me about his smell but I sorely underestimated what you told me.”

Laughter spread around the group and it was another vampire that answered before the

other one. “Uh oh, boss. Looks like our spoiled Navir can’t handle this. That’s what you and

Mina get for never telling him ‘no.’”

“Shut up,” Navir barked, but there was a smile on his face.

“You get used to it after a while,” someone else responded simply.

“Yeah, all you have to do is remember that boss will rip your throat out if you come near

him, that’s a pretty big incentive.” Laughter spread around the group at this.

The vampire that had commanded Navir strolled up to her still chuckling. “For making

such an ignorant mistake I almost should let Navir rip into you. You have any idea what the

smell of you is like to demons? Well, let’s look have a look at our new Lord Drakkar. If we had

been a second later, we would have missed that.”

Maxine’s heart was beating hard in her chest as the vampire walked around her. She

couldn’t take her eyes off of the fangs that glistened even in the dark. The vampire was on the

shorter side, maybe five foot seven, hardly taller than Amar himself. He was lean and pale with

wispy dark hair, and he walked with the air of purpose. The air of a royal.

“Leave her the hell alone, vampire!” Amar shouted, placing himself between her and

him.

The vampire stopped immediately, his eyes widening. “Her?” he intoned. He stepped

forward, shoving Amar aside as if he were hardly there and stared at her for a long moment,

eternity seeming to stretch out between them. Suddenly he reached out and grabbed the collar of

her shirt, pulling it forward and staring down inside of her shirt.

Hot heat rose through her and she reacted before she processed any thoughts. She reared

her fist back and punched out, catching the vampire hard across the jaw. “What the hell are you

doing?!” she screamed.

The vampire stumbled back a pace at the same time she wrenched herself free from him

also stumbling back a few steps. She spun around realizing she had almost collided into the

group of vampires behind her and went staggering back and away from them, almost taking out

Kriss this time.

The whole group erupted into laughter.

“So much for first impressions, eh boss!”

“Holy crap, he is a she!”

“Nice arm, there, Drakkarina!”

‘Boss’ grinned at them, rubbing his chin and then refocused his eyes on her. “Same short

fuse, that’s for sure, along with the same fight not flight response.”

“Leave me alone!” Maxine screamed, feeling tears starting to rise to her eyes, terror

starting to overtake her.

The ‘boss’ vampire gave her a wide grin and shoved his thumb in his pocket and waved

his other hand as if he were batting away a fly. “I think we’re getting off to a bad start here. Let’s

start over. I think some introductions are in order. My name is Demon Lord Dresdin of the

Vampire Clan, and I assure you, Drakkar, that I, nor any of my men, mean you any harm. The

bulky guy over there is my son Navir. He’s the only one in this group you’ve never spoken

with.”

“Demon… Lord…” she intoned, her brain catching those words and freezing on them.

She swallowed hard looking around nervously. “As in one of the seventy seven demon lords of

Tartarus.”

“None other.”

“Holy shit,” both Kriss and Amar swore at the same time.

Their words did not even come close to matching the horror that she felt inside. They

were not Drakkar the demon hunter. She held up her hand her mind working hard to process

through the fear that encompassed her. “L-L-Look, I-I-I know I’m Drakkar and… look, I don’t

know what I did to you before, but whatever it was I swear I’m sorry and that I won’t do it again.

I-I-I really don’t want any trouble. Just, please, let me go.”

“Heh, she’s scared shitless, boss,” someone chuckled.

Dresdin grinned across at him. “I can’t imagine why. I’m just so lovable looking.”

Laughter traveled through the pack as he took a step closer. “I said it before but I’ll say it

again since I think your brain got stuck at the wrong part. Neither me or my men mean you any

harm.” He dropped to one knee, placing a hand on his heart and lowering his head. “I am once

again yours to command, my lord.”

H-Huh?! This doesn’t help her brain process, in fact it crashed it more. There… was a

demon lord standing in front of her, bowing to the successor of the demon hunter. “What the hell

is going on?!” she screamed, hugging herself and backing away from him. “I don’t understand

what you are saying.”

Dresdin remained bowed but looked up at her with a wide smile. “What I’m saying is,

Lord Drakkar, three hundred years ago you and I were friends.”

***

Friends? Friends?! With a vampire?! That made no sense. None at all.

No. Maybe the horrifying part of it was that it made perfect sense. Drakkar had opened

the door to Tartarus, had his wings ripped off, and was cast away from his family. What other

sort of vagrant activities could a fallen angel participate in if it weren’t consorting with the same

demons that he had released.

“You really shouldn’t have wandered into this forest,” Dresdin was telling her as they

moved. “To a demon, you’re the tastiest thing alive. They can smell your scent for miles around.

You’re just lucky that it was wraiths that tried to take you first. Better not to keep you in one

place for long. Stopping for the night to get some sleep is out of the question for you.”

And the pace that the vampires set was fast. That seemed to be the only mode that they

knew, and they constantly teased her for and Amar and Kriss for being so slow. She watched as

vampires raced even through the trees, going up dead logs, or just simply climbing and jumping

from branch to branch, others racing ahead and some racing behind and returning. Dresdin was

the only one who kept at her side matching her pace.

He had remained silent for the most part and she had not talked either. Slowly bit by bit

she was coming down off of her panic, and she had a feeling that he was giving her that time to

get used to his presence. She licked her lips nervously. “Y-you said you and Drakkar were

friends?” she asked softly, the first words she had spoken to him since. “H-How? He was a

demon killer.”

“Drakkar was a demon hunter. Big difference. His goal was to return the demons in

Tartarus, not kill them. The first time I met Drakkar was when he came to fight me. He lost. It

was the first and only time that Drakkar ever lost to me. Fortunately for him I don’t kill to eat. I

took him back to my hive and me and my wife feasted off of him. Normally I then put my

victims to sleep and throw them in a dungeon to recuperate before I feed off of them again,

except it seems the asshole was impervious to my sleeping spell. Once he regained

consciousness after his defeat he was back up and running. He managed to bust out of the prison

that I had thrown him into and went searching for the exit.”

A nearby vampire chuckled at this. “Except he didn’t find it, did he, boss?”

Dresdin grinned and shook his head. “No, he didn’t. What he did find was the girls.

Drakkar was a notorious skirt chaser, and I don’t think he realized the girls were vampires. Or

maybe he just didn’t care. By the time that I found him, the girls were hopelessly enamored with

him and I’m in the unfortunate habit of giving the girls whatever they want.. Not long after he

even conquered my Mina.”

“And soon after that, you too, boss!” Laughter ripped through the group of vampires.

“Heh heh, well,” Dresdin said with a wave of his hand, “he was a scoundrel. He knew

how to have fun and not take things so seriously. I respected that. Heh, the asshole was a lie, a

cheat, and a pathetic rouge. I enjoyed his company a great deal. So when he left and came back a

year later asking for my help I had no qualms coming to a business arrangement with him and

that was how things existed between us.”

“Business arrangement?” she intoned.

Dresdin favored her with a wicked smile. “Blood for service. He gave me vials of his

blood, or for bigger jobs he let me chew on his neck for a while, and in return he got us,” he said

holding up his hands, indicating the pack of vampires.

Maxine couldn’t resist the urge to clap a hand to her neck, feeling sick to her stomach.

“I… I’m not…” she started.

“Heh, relax, Drakkarina. Drakkar offered, I never took. I respected Drakkar too much for

that.”

“What do you mean ‘services’ exactly?” Amar demanded behind her. “What sort of

things did Drakkar ask you to do?”

“Hunt down demons, naturally,” Dresdin answered simply.

“But you’re a demon,” Kriss pointed out. “You hunted your own kind?”

Dresdin favored them with that same evil smile again. “I’m a Demon Lord. You don’t get

to my position being a push over. There is no honor among demons. Further, I couldn’t really

care less. I’m probably one of the only Lords that have no real interest in the Fate Wars. Balance

in our favor or not, as long as I have my own slice of territory and enough creatures to hunt and

keep me amused, I’m indifferent.” He looked down at her. “If you hadn’t come looking for me, I

doubt we would have ever met. I have no desire in the least to kill you.”

Maxine frowned and stared up at him. “So… demons did search Drakkar out? Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’?” he threw back at her, looking down at her.

“Well… Drakkar was a demon hunter. Wouldn’t demons want to stay away from him?

Why search him out?”

Dresdin jerked to a stop, his eyes widening. “You’re joking, right?”

Maxine looked around and she noticed that other demons had stopped as well, all of them

giving her the same confused, wide eyed look. “Joking? About what?”

“You’re the now-mortal Elemental of Magic. Of course a demon would want to search

you out to kill you.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Amar shot back before she could. “Demons want to destroy

Fate. What do they care about Maxine, uh Drakkar, other than she is the one who opened the

door?”

Dresdin’s eyes slipped from him back to her, searching her for something. It was another

vampire that broke the silence first. “Oh fuck, boss, she’s that clueless.”

Dresdin reached out and grabbed her shoulder, all of his former humor gone, his eyes

narrowed. “I know and I realize your memories have been wiped out. But surely you received

some instruction?”

“W-well, sorta. Elemental Remus was teaching me, but we only got three days in before

Elemental Aurora ordered me to get something called Demon’s Eyes,” she explained.

A growl was forming in Dresdin’s throat. “But he told you, right? That asshole Remus

had to tell you about the balance.”

“He mentioned just a little. He said he would explain in more detail later, but he said

things like my element could do things others couldn’t with the balance. Could tip it. I’m not

even sure exactly yet what the balance is, but he did tell me that’s why I was on top of the

pantheon and even my Fallen status didn’t change that. Magic is important to it in some way.”

“Sounds like they haven’t told her shit, boss,” a vampire said from the top of a tree.

“Typical bastards. All they ever did was treat Drakkar like shit. Seems three hundred years

hasn’t fixed that.”

“Heh,” Dresdin with a small chuckle, “time never fixes anything.” Similar chuckles

passed through the others. “Don’t worry about it for now, kid. Seems I’m going to have to play

teacher a bit when we reach my hive.”

Dresdin opened his mouth as if to say something else, but stopped, his eyes narrowing.

He turned his head away lifting into the wind and she heard him take a big whiff.

“Smell something?” Navir asked.

“Can’t you?” Dresdin asked.

“Over her? Not a chance.”

“Smells like a Were, boss,” one of the vampires shouted from up in the trees.

A wide smile spread across Dresdin’s face, revealing his sharp fangs. “Smells like some

fun, boys!” he shouted excitedly. Whoops and hollers of excitement were returned.

“A Were?!” Kriss shouted amazed. “How is that even possible. I’ve been through this

forest many times before and I never came across one on the path.”

Dresdin turned to him a with a wide grin and a laugh. “Yes, but you weren’t traveling

with the Elemental of Magic, were you? Like I said before, demons can smell her for miles

away. There is only one thing they want.”

Maxine swallowed hard and started to unsheathe her sword but Dresdin shook his head.

“Shion ain’t going to help with this, girl,” he told her. “You’re staying behind anyways.”

“Why?” she asked, stunned. “I’m the Elemental of Magic. Tell me a spell to cast and –“

“Most demons are impervious to magic,” he said interrupting her. “Further, there’s not a

single damn demon that doesn’t have some trick to fight against you making your magic useless.

Then of course there’s the fun fact that you’re new and clueless. Drakkar had been doing it for

millions of years. He knew all the ins and outs of his element. Yet he still lost many times. No.

You’re staying behind.”

She kept her mouth closed. If someone else wanted to do her fighting for her, very well.

She wasn’t exactly going to argue. Dresdin turned away from her and turned to Navir. “Stay

behind. Keep five with you and keep these three protected. Keep heading through the forest. It’s

too dangerous to keep her standing in one spot waiting for us.”

“Wait – you want me to stay behind?” Navir asked, amazed.

“You wanted to join this hunting pack. Time for you to start getting to use to the smell of

her. The sooner you do that, the better.”

Navir looked across at her and she winced. She could almost see the desperate hunger in

his eyes. “Wait! Don’t I have a say in this,” she gasped.

Dresdin turned to her with a wide smile. “Navir’s my son. He’s stronger than the rest. He

can keep himself held back.” Saying this with a wide grin, Dresdin patted Navir’s shoulder and

dashed off, running and joining the rest of the pack.

Navir clicked his tongue and called out five names, ordering them around her in

formation. The rest of them whooped and shouted and went running off behind Dresdin,

disappearing into the trees. Navir turned to her and snorted. “Let’s go,” he ordered simply before

turning around and rushing off.

“You think we can trust them?” Kriss asked following after.

“Don’t think we have a choice, really,” Amar answered. “Besides, what’s in it for them?

If they really wanted her they could have killed us and just taken her. You saw how easily they

killed those wraiths.”

“So you really think Drakkar was evil enough still to consort with demons?” she asked

him.

He stopped and spun around on her. “You aren’t evil!” he nearly shouted at her. “Don’t

you do that to yourself. If Drakkar was lucky enough to find some demons that could help him in

his efforts and didn’t have too many evil quirks, I think he would have been a fool to have passed

it up. Now stop doubting yourself and let’s hurry up before something else comes along that

wants to kill you.”

Yeah, she thought miserably, and whatever it was that was inside of her was also what

caused her to open the door to Tartarus.

Chapter 24 A loud roar tore through the forest. Amar froze and Maxine almost slammed into him, he

still had ahold of her arm. “What the hell was that?” Amar demanded.

“That was a Were’s roar,” Navir answered. “Something’s not right.

“That was much too close,” another vampire remarked. “What the hell is Dresdin and

them doing letting him get that close?”

“No, that came from the other direction,” another vampire corrected.

Navir’s head twisted back to them and then back to look out at the woods. He swore and

spun on them. “There’s two!” he shouted.

Fear turned Maxine’s heart into ice. “What do you mean two?” she demanded.

“It means more than one,” Amar yelled at her sarcastically. “What do we do?” he

demanded turning back to Navir.

Navir was already reaching down and picking her up around the middle, lifting her over

his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Isdar, Vidim, get the two boys and book it. Kraith, chase

down Dresdin and get help! He might have heard, but let’s not take our chances.”

“Got it, boss,” one of the vampires shouted back already disappearing into the trees,

becoming a simple blur. “Hold on,” Navir whispered in her ear. “This might be a bumpy ride.”

She gaped back, staring at Amar their eyes holding each other for a moment just before

she he too was picked up and Navir raced off not waiting. Maxine’s breath caught in her throat.

She stared back in horror afraid that she was leaving Amar and Kriss behind, but moments later

the vampires holding them had caught them. She sagged up against Navir trusting him to the

situation.

It was incredible how fast the vampire ran, the wind whipping around her, her braid

flapping off at the side of her head. There was nothing smooth about the ride, either, though.

Navir did not let anything get in his way, running up dead logs, jumping through trees and

landing hard back down in the dirt almost jarring the breath out of her lungs, but not once did his

grip on her slip.

If she held any delusions that maybe they could outrun whatever was chasing them she

was horribly wrong. From the trees directly beside them a large beast suddenly smashed through,

plowing over two trees. Navir had to duck and roll to avoid it. Maxine screamed holding on for

dear life, but again Navir’s grip held true. He got up and the two of them gaped at it for a

moment. The creature was easily two stories high. It looked like a cross between a bear and a

wolf, with a large tooth filled snout and enormous paws with short black claws. It opened up its

jaw and roared, the wind enough to push Maxine off of Navir’s shoulder. Navir swore, spun

around, and went dashing off through the woods, tearing down the path.

“Wait. Wait!” she screamed. “Amar! Kriss!” Too late, they were gone from sight along

with the were. She clawed desperately at Navir trying to get free of him.

“Stop that!” he roared at her. “That beast isn’t after them. He’s after you.”

“I wouldn’t even be a mouthful for it!” she screamed back at him. “Why does he even

care about me?”

“Trust me, he wouldn’t swallow you whole if he catches you. He would be very slow and

it will be very painful.”

Ok and that ended that conversation. Never again was she going to ever ask why a demon

would be interested in her despite its size. Some things were better left to the imagination. She

turned back around and focused on the beast chasing after them. Right up to the moment it

leaped through the air and sailed over them. “Navir!” she screamed. “Stop, stop!”

Fortunately it seemed Navir was interested in listening to a fifteen year old girl because

he did exactly what she told him to do. The Were landed right in front of them, in the very spot

they would have been at had he kept going. What he could not avoid, though, was the overly

large paw that slammed him into, throwing him off his feet and sending the both of them flying

back and landing hard into the dirt.

Maxine’s land into the dirt was rough and she felt dirt, rocks, and sticks tear into her flesh

as she went rolling. She leaped up to her feet as soon as she was stopped, ignoring her wounds,

immediately drawing her sword and pulling Threads around her, readying herself for a fight if

necessary. The Were was already tearing down towards her and for two seconds she doubted

herself. “Stop!” she screamed. The only thing that she could think of was a barrier that was

strong enough to stop him and that’s what she poured the Threads into. It was a carelessly spell,

but it did its job. The Were slammed hard into an invisible barrier of magic Threads that

promptly shattered into a million tiny shards of glass, slicing into the beast’s face. The Were

roared in pain, jerked back and pawing at its face.

Navir leaped out of nowhere from the side and grabbed ahold of the Were’s neck,

hanging off from it, and she watched as he sunk his teeth into its neck and started clawing at it

with his razor sharp nails.

“Boss!” someone shouted from behind her. Two vampires immediately joined him,

leaping past her and onto the beast, sinking tooth and claw, searching for a way to bring the beast

down. The Were stood up on his back haunches roaring loudly and started thrashing, trying to

dislodge the vampires off of its body.

Beside her two vampires joined her, setting Amar and Kriss down beside her. “Stay out

of the way,” one of them barked. “Get into the trees over there,” and left joining the fight.

Maxine started to rush forward, her adrenaline pumping and her mind flowing with a

million possible spells she might throw when Amar grabbed her arm. “Earth to Maxine! Are you

stupid,” he hissed at her.

“Once you get her going it’s hard to get her to stop,” Kriss growled in agreement,

grabbing her other hand with the sword and pulling her along with Amar away from the fight and

into the trees.

“But I can help,” she protested.

“If it looks like they need it we’ll join in, but for now let’s do what they told us to do,”

Amar promised her.

“Shit! Look out!” a voice screamed behind them.

Maxine spun around in time to see the beast lunging at her, two vampires hanging off of

its neck still, not able to stop it. Amar reacted, slamming into her and throwing her off of her

feet, throwing her off to the side, crashing into Kriss so that the both of them went rolling off

into the dirt. She looked up just in time to see the Were raise a massive paw and slam it into

Amar throwing him backwards into the trees.

Maxine picked her sword up and went running towards the beast, slicing at it with her

blade, cutting a long gash into its snout. She didn’t stop running, though, her objective not to

fight the monster, but her mind on Amar. Oh dear stars was he alright?!

She went racing off into the trees screaming his name. “Maxine!” his voice called back.

“Stop! Cliff!”

She stopped in the nick of time, her feet almost going over the side of a cliff. For a

moment she hung there on the edge and wind milled her arms desperately trying to regain her

balance until she righted herself enough to take a few quick steps back. She gaped down at Amar

who was holding onto a tree root for dear life, staring up at her with fear in his eyes.

She quickly dropped down and reached out for him. “Take my hand, Amar!” she

screamed.

Desperately he released one hand and reached up, trying to grab a hold of her hand. For

one small second their fingertips touched and then she heard the ripping of vegetation and then

Amar was flying out in the middle of nothingness, his arms spinning around him, and his eyes

connecting with hers for just a moment as he tumbled downwards.

“No!” she screamed and leaped out after him. Barely half a second in the air she

wondered what they hell she thought she was going to accomplish leaping out after him, but it

was much too late now.

She tumbled through the air until she crashed on her stomach getting a face full of dirt. It

had been a short fall and though it had been hard, she didn’t feel any ill effects on her body as

she sat up taking stock of herself.

“You damnable, reckless, idiotic, fool!” a voice screamed at her. Suddenly Amar was

there, his hands grabbing her collar roughly, his face barely an inch from hers. “Why the fuck did

you do that, Maxine? Why the hell did you jump after me? I watched you do it! What is wrong

with you?”

She tried in vain to fight him off, but couldn’t. “I-I’m sorry,” she shouted at him. “I don’t

know. I didn’t think. I just –“

“That’s your problem. You never think. What if that fall had killed both of us?”

“I just couldn’t sit there and do nothing!” she shouted back at him.

“You can’t kill yourself, Maxine. That’s not going to accomplish anything.”

“I know! Look, it was a snap decision and it was a poor one. I’m sorry, Amar. I don’t

know what else to tell you. I swear I wasn’t trying to kill myself. I just – I just wanted to save

you.”

He glared at her looking like there was so much more that he wanted to say to her but

didn’t know how to say it. His face was the picture of raw rage that he was forcibly containing.

“Damn you,” was all he ended up saying before releasing her shirt.

His few words and his subsequent silence sliced into her. He walked over and picked up

his pole, creating a light orb that hovered at the top of the staff. She looked back up at the cliff.

Seriously, though, she couldn’t blame him. What had she been thinking just jumping after him

like that? For just a moment she swore her plan had included flight somewhere. She sighed and

rose to her feet, hugging her arm. Yeah, she swore that in split second she had envisioned

opening up wings on her back to save Amar. She thought about telling Amar that, but decided

against it. She wasn’t sure what good it would do and might just reopen the subject and rekindle

his rage. Once, just once, she wished there was something that she could do that made him happy

with her. Well, Amar didn’t smile lightly, and when he did it was usually because he was

plotting something evil, but if she could just do something that pleased him that would be

enough.

A small scratching sound made her pause, cutting into her thoughts. She frowned and

looked around trying to identify the source. “What is that?” she asked finally.

“What’s what?” Amar said crisply, his voice still filled with hot, fresh anger.

The scratching sound was getting louder, thought it was still a faint sound all the same,

but it was hard to believe that Amar could possibly be missing it. “That sound. That… scratching

sound. It sounds like… something skittering.”

Amar turned and looked at her but the look he gave her was blank confusion. He turned

around, though and lifted his pole a little higher, attempting to illuminate whatever lay beyond

the area and into the forest growth they had fallen into. There was nothing but trees everywhere.

Trees and undergrowth. Everything looked clear. “I don’t hear anything,” he said.

The light at the top of his pole flickered and then blinked out. Amar stared up at it

confused. “What the hell?” he asked softly, lowering his pole and staring at it. “Uh, that’s weird.

My magic’s gone.”

He turned to her and she in turn summoned the world of magic around her, staring around

at it. Something didn’t… feel right. The Threads appeared before her, crisscrossing through the

world as they always did, oblivious to space or location. It took her a moment to spot what the

scratching skittering sound was. It was tiny, but when they started moving it became clear

immediately what they were. Spiders. Millions of them. They were swarming all over the magic

Threads. She could see where Amar’s magic existed at the top of his pole. She watched the white

Threads flicker and disappear as the spiders swarmed over it, devouring it. Frowning, stepping

up for a closer look she then watched as the tiny spiders then leaped back onto the main lines of

the Threads and began surging forward again – towards her!

She stumbled back immediately, a scream leaving her throat, falling hard into the dirt,

desperately patting herself down and quickly working her hands over her body as they leaped off

the Threads and landed directly on her. She felt nothing, at least not with her physical body, but

the part of her that existed in her mind through her eye, felt every little needle prick of their tiny

legs, felt them begin biting her, chewing into her. They were eating her! It felt like the touch of

the wraith all over again. That feeling of intense coldness overcame her, swallowed her whole.

Now and again she felt one of them creating some sort of web on her skin, and the point of

contact made her burn. Desperately she tried to throw these off first, but for every hundred a

single swipe dislodged, there were a thousand more to take their place.

She was conscious that she was screaming now. What exactly she wasn’t sure, though

she caught the words ‘spider’ and ‘get them off of me.’ Amar was now kneeling beside her in the

dirt, staring at her desperately. “I don’t see them!” he shouted. “Maxine, I don’t see anything!”

Oh dear stars the pain was intense. Tears filled her eyes as she struggled to get them off

of her. Now and again Amar made as if to help her, but his hands went right through them, and

he couldn’t see what he was doing anyways. At one point he stood up, grabbing his pole, and

tried to cast a spell. What spell it might have been she wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, it didn’t

work. The moment the Threads pulled out of the air out of the Web, the spiders swarmed the

Threads, going after it, devouring the strands before they even reached Amar.

She watched as he threw down his pole in frustration and then suddenly took off, leaving

her there screaming in pain. Her body was starting to lose its strength, the intense cold taking

over, cutting into her thoughts, making her oh so tired.

“Dresdin!” Amar screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice even breaking through her

hysteria. “Dresdin! Someone! Anyone!”

His voice faded and then she was alone with her struggle. She was now mashing the

spiders, slapping them instead of just trying to dislodge them, trying to kill as many as she

possibly could. This worked, but there was far too many of them. She was being bitten from

every area now, through her clothes, and in her hair.

When she felt the hands she had stopped trying to fight by then. She was too tired and her

body too weak to even continue. She couldn’t even move and her eyes had a hard time focusing,

trying to see who had her.

Blood red eyes stared back at her and she immediately recognized Dresdin’s deep

gravelly voice, though it took a moment for her to understand his words. As she stared up at him

it was odd, it almost felt like she was seeing two of him. One very clearly with her eyes and the

other was definitely in another location.

“Close your eye!” he hissed at her. “Dammit, Drakkar, I can’t save you if you don’t try to

save yourself. Close your damn eye!”

Close my… eye… she intoned in her mind. As long as it took her to process what she

was hearing, it took that long to understand what he was asking. By then Amar was beside her

whispering gently to her, tears on his face. “Maxine, please, close your third eye. Stop looking at

the magic plane. Stop staring into the world of Threads.”

Oh! Now she understood. She had to close the window in the back of her mind. It took

some doing and it was very hard. Dresdin working beside her in that world and the spiders all

over her body made it nearly impossible for her to concentrate enough to close her eye. Every

movement made her want to keep it open.

The eye in her mind closed and she was cast into a world of darkness. She couldn’t see

the spiders, but Dresdin’s hands working over her body told her that they were still there, he was

still desperately patting her down and throwing them off. She noticed that he was no longer

killing them as far as she could tell. He was now just brushing them off. She couldn’t be sure,

though. Her brain could barely process anything anymore.

Finally Dresdin’s clawed hands stopped and she peered up at him, meeting his eyes. She

noticed, though, that now something else was wrong. During his struggle she had watched as

Dresdin’s pupils had dilated, his nostrils flaring, and now and again his tongue would lick his

fangs which seemed to protrude from the sides of his mouth.

She had read somewhere that beasts like lions or wolves always went after the weakest

prey in the group – and that they could tell. They could sense which ones were dying. It made

her pause and wonder if the smell of a perfect healthy Elemental was delicious to a vampire,

what must the smell of a dying one be like.

From the hungry look Dresdin was giving her, she had a feeling she was about to get her

answer.

“Dresdin?” Amar’s voice spoke from somewhere that seemed both far away and very

near. “Is she safe now? Are the spiders gone?”

Dresdin licked his lips, his breath seemed ragged, and when he spoke his voice was thick

and wet and much deeper than normal. “Yeah. The spiders are gone.” She felt Dresdin’s hand

tighten around her arm, felt his claws digging into her skin. “Yeah… gone…” he said his voice

husky.

“Dresdin?”

Dresdin licked his lips again and bent forward opening his mouth. Maxine closed her

eyes, not wanting to know what was about to come, giving herself over to darkness, letting

herself fall asleep and let go of everything.

“Don’t you dare, vampire!” was the last thing that she heard. A small jolt and the world

was gone.

***

Her world was pain. Pain and cold. It felt like the time that she had gone ice skating in

the winter at the school, stepping out onto the frozen river and then falling through. At the time

she had not known how to swim, either – it had been her first year there. The pain had been like

a thousand knives stabbing her, even once pulled up out of the water by Sorcerer Morkoth’s

strong hands after he had jumped in to rescue her, the feeling had persisted.

That’s what her world felt like now.

Something was pressed up against her lips and her mouth was filled with a thick liquid –

but oh dear stars it was so warm. She swallowed, feeling the incredible heat travel through her

providing a short span of relief, but it was not enough. Nowhere near enough.

The thing was pressed up to her lips again and the wonderful liquid filled her mouth

again. She swallowed immediately, not keeping it long on her tongue, anxious for it to be deeper

inside of her.

“That’s right,” a voice spoke gently above her. “Good, good. Keep drinking. Slowly,

though. Let it sit on your tongue for a moment. Calm down. There’s plenty.”

“This is sick. I can’t watch you do this. You swear it’s not going to turn her.”

“A little trust, boy.”

“Don’t think so. The trust thing is way over, vampire.”

“I didn’t hear you saying that when you were screaming my name to save her. Heh,

Navir, keep the boy quiet before I rip out his tongue for annoying me.”

“Knock it off, Amar!”

The liquid filled her mouth again and the object was pulled away – yet again. She was

starting to get desperate. They were pulling it away too fast. Oh damn she wanted more. She

would do anything – anything – for that wonderful liquid and the brief spurts of heat that it was

giving her. This time when the object was pressed to her mouth, she sucked at it, and this time

when it was being pulled away she reached out and grabbed it, forcing it in place, keeping it

there.

“Heh, there were go. There’s our fighter.” Several loud cheers echoed through the area.

“She’s alive,” the voice said thick with relief.

“It’s going to take more than that to kill Lord Drakkar, boss. I knew he was going to pull

through.”

“Yeah, well, he’s not out of the danger zone, yet. What he needs is more magic pumped

into him. He’s lost a lot of his essence.”

“At least she’s not transparent anymore,” a small voice squeaked. “I mean… I knew she

wasn’t human in the back of my mind and all but that… that was too scary and too creepy to see.

I coulda done without that sort of proof.”

“What else do you need to do?”

The object was removed forcibly from her mouth. She cried out desperately for it before

she settled back, her world becoming filled with pain again. She shivered uncontrollably and

tried to open her eyes and take stock of where she was and what was going on. Dresdin was

leaning over her and she could see vampires behind him in the distance. On the other side of her,

Kriss sat there, his wings fluttering and his blue antennae hanging low around his ears. Amar sat

beside him. She stared at his face, but something seemed wrong with it. It took her a moment to

understand what it was that she was seeing. There were three long claw marks from the top of his

left eyebrow stretching diagonally to the right side of his cheek, biting into his nose and lips, but

it looked like whatever had done the damage had just missed his eye.

“Get her the hell out of here, that’s what we need to do,” Dresdin answered.

Kriss reached out and touched her cheek lightly. “She’s still so cold. She’s shivering like

a leaf.”

Amar reached up and ran a hand over his robes and then stood up. “Hold on,” he said,

turning around and walking a little out of her sight, his hand going for his belt already. “I’ve got

several layers here, I can give her some to wrap her up in.”

“That’s barely going to put a dent into the cold she’s feeling, boy.”

“It’s still something!” Amar shouted back.

Moments later she felt herself being wrapped up into something warm, the strong scent of

dark fresh earth filled her nose. It was a pleasant and comforting smell reminding her strongly of

Amar. Dresdin worked the robes around her, simply wrapping her up in them backwards rather

than bothering with the sleeves or anything. They provided some warm, but she still felt

impossibly cold and she was now feeling insanely sick to her stomach. “More drink?” she asked

desperately, her voice coming out in weak rasps.

“Heh, liked my blood did you? Sorry, gotta turn down your request, kid. Let’s get you the

hell out of here. We still have a lot of woods to get through. Navir, take command. I’ll carry

her.”

“I’m not trusting you again, vampire!” Amar protested. “Not after what you almost did.

I’m going to carry her.”

“Listen, boy!” Dresdin shouted, his voice thundering through the area. “I almost lost

control because I was in the magic plane. All of my senses were heightened and I forgot just how

powerful her scent could be in an injured state. We don’t have time to play around. You will be

carried, too. What we need now is speed and we need to get her to my hive before she dies. My

blood is keeping her from the brink but she’s still dying. If we do it your way not only does it

give a chance for something else to attack but she will dwindle away again.”

There was silence for a long while. Amar must have been about to say something else

finally when Kriss’s voice cut sharply through the air. “Stop it already, Amar! I get your trust

issue thing. I get it, but we don’t exactly have a choice right now. Get over it! If we do it your

way, Maxine dies. If we do it his way sure there’s the chance that he might kill her, but there’s

also the chance, a very high chance, that he will save her. Besides, you’ve already fought him

and you almost lost that fight before he caught himself. If he really wanted Maxine do you think

he would seriously be bothering with lying like this. Now knock it off. You aren’t helping.”

While Kriss was arguing Dresdin had already picked her up gently in his arms. He turned

and barked orders to the other vampires who rushed to carry out his commands, grabbing Amar

and Kriss and throwing them over their shoulders. “Let’s move!” he shouted.

Together the whole group went rushing through the forest at an incredible pace. Maxine

closed her eyes and lost consciousness again, tears slipping out from her eyes at the pain that

traveled through her body.

Chapter 25 She woke up again to the feel of something being pressed up against her lips and more of

the hot liquid filling her mouth. “Damn, I wish we hadn’t had to stop like that. Damn chimera.

The boys alright?”

“W-we’re fine,” Kriss’s voice squeaked.

“How’s Maxine? Is something wrong?”

“She’s fine. Just waning. My domain is up ahead. Shouldn’t be much longer.”

“I don’t recall Drakkar having this much trouble before,” a vampire growled.

Dresdin chuckled. “That was three hundred years ago. The forest wasn’t as dense and the

demons hadn’t had a chance to breed. Of course things have gotten worse. She’s going to have

her work cut out for her when she gets older.”

“If she survives that long,” Navir muttered almost too soft to hear.

She felt Dresdin pick her up again and she screamed out as waves of pain flashed through

her body. She didn’t think it was possible but the pain had become so much more intense.

“Please make it stop,” she begged weakly, moaning into his chest. 

            “Heh, begging to a demon,” Dresdin said with his now familiar sarcastic chuckle.

“You’re lucky I’m as amiable as I am.”

            Rough laughter passed through the group traveling behind him. “Heart of gold, right

boss.”

            She slipped back out of consciousness again and when she woke up next it was with a

scream on her lips, the pain searing through her like fire. “Almost there, girl. Hang on.”

            Looking around, she realized they had stopped running at the break neck pace they had

previously been traveling at. She also noticed that it looked like they were inside a structure of

some sort – a palace, perhaps. Vampires lined the halls, many of them bowing, some giving her

curious looks. Looking back she could see Amar and Kriss looking around fearfully, traveling

close behind Dresdin. Navir and the others were nowhere in sight as far as she could tell.

            He turned at a door and pulled a handle, slamming it wide open and stepping through.

Almost immediately she was grabbed out of Dresdin’s arms, women’s voices filling the air. “Get

him over here, quickly, girls,” a voice louder than the others shouted.

            She was brought over to a pile of blankets near a fire where something was bubbling in a

cauldron. It felt so good to be this close to warmth again. The ladies tried to prop her up on her

feet, but when she couldn’t herself up, they held her up by her arms and systematically began

unclothing her, first undoing her pants and then pulling her shirt up and over her head.

The shirt cleared her vision at the same time the pain flared through her again. A scream

ripped out of her throat and she stumbled forward propped up by a quick arm. “Uh… wait a

second. This… this is Drakkar?!” a voice said, awe filling it.

“He’s… a girl!” Several voices screamed in delight as they held her up and looked her

over.

She looked up just in time to meet the deep blue of Amar’s wide eyes. He was standing

there with his mouth hanging open, his cheeks glowing red. In the same second that he realized

she had noticed him, he spun away, quickly disappearing back behind someone, Kriss following

after with wildly flapping wings.

Tears streaked down her cheeks and she fell forward no longer able to process anything,

both pain and humiliation traveling through her.

“Focus, ladies!” the main voice shouted, raising above the squeals. “Tsudor, get Drakkar

down into the pit. Corinne, get the oil. Hurry ladies, he’s starting to turn transparent again and I

don’t want to risk giving him anymore vampire blood. Dresdin, keep those two mortals in here,

we can use them.”

“Wait! Me?” she heard Amar’s voice shout.

“What? Now you’ve got a problem?” Dresdin demanded lightly. “She’s here and we’re

trying to save her. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“B-but she… she’s… she’s naked. I can’t –“

“She’s dying. I don’t think right now she’s going to care.”

“Yeah, but what about when she’s recovered?” he demanded. “You don’t know Maxine

like I do. She’ll kill me.”

“Probably a safe assumption,” Dresdin said with a laugh. “But at least she’ll be alive to

do it, right?”

By the time Amar had rejoined her, though, she had already been lathered down in some

thick strange oil and was being lead down into a ‘pit,’ which was actually rather a disturbing

name for something a lot more innocent. There was a large round depression in the stone floor

accessed by four steps cut around the whole circumference. Inside the pit at least thirty people

could have easily fit comfortably. It was filled with all manner of thick blankets and gauzy

materials and fluffy pillows. At the very center there was a small round brazier position, burning

brightly carefully separated from the blankets. Wonderful delicious heat radiated from it. A small

bed had already been set up beside it for her. She was tucked away and layer up layer of blankets

were placed over her.

“Oh? A sprite? How delightful!” someone said with a giggle. “Good, you’re going to be

the most helpful. Here, you lay right here.”

“Here? At her head? I can’t see her laying here, though,” Kriss protested.

“It’s fine. We don’t need you to be able to see her or be near her. What’s the other boy.”

“Human,” someone answered. “He has a strong soul, though. Oooh, look at that thread of

fate. Clotho took her time spinning him, didn’t she?”

“Don’t be daft, Clotho takes the same amount of time with everyone,” the main voice

answered back sternly. “What’s with this face – uh, Dresdin! This looks like your handiwork.”

“Guilty. Sorry, Mina. Lost control of myself saving her. Heh, that boy was the only thing

that stood between her and me. He’s lucky I didn’t rip him to shreds.”

The voice of Mina grumbled angrily and Amar was lead into her eye sight. “Lay here,”

she commanded.

Amar stared down at her his face reddening. “B-beside her?” he asked looking over his

shoulder.

“Yes, yes, yes,” a voice command impatiently and someone pushed him down and he

quickly laid beside her, staring up at the ceiling uncomfortably, his face as red as one of the

blankets he was laying on.

“W-what do we need to do?” he asked after a moment.

“Just lay there,” Mina explained from somewhere farther in the room. “In a minute we’re

going to channel your threads of fate into her. You might feel weak at first, but don’t worry. Just

fall asleep beside her and let us do all the work. There won’t be any harm done, I promise.”

“Our thread of fate?” Amar asked. “She’s the Elemental of Magic. Shouldn’t you be

channeling magic into her? I thought that’s what she was made of.”

“Uh… excuse me?”

“Forget it, Mina,” Dresdin interrupted. “We’ve got some schooling to do for Drakkarina

there. Those damn Elemental bastards didn’t tell her a damn thing. She’s only had a month of

learning for her powers.”

“What? But… didn’t Remus…?”

“I told you that asshole wasn’t going to do shit. What a fucking joke. I swear if I see that

bastard ever again I swear I’ll rip those wings off of him. See how he likes it.”

Mina cleared her throat. “For now, my dear boy, just trust us when I say that this will

work. We have saved Drakkar’s life many times in the past. We have become quite proficient at

it, actually. Though I will admit that this is the first time that we have ever had other mortals to

assist. I cannot tell you how much easier this will make things. Before we use to capture –“

“Will you shut up,” Amar roared. “Just get on with this and save her already.”

Several giggles erupted into the room. “Very well, then,” Mina said with a small laugh.

“Close your eyes and relax. Ladies, let’s begin.”

[take out the invisibility thing, let’s leave that for the ending]

Maxine shivered hard despite the heat she felt beside her with the brazier so close to her

and all of the blankets piled on top of her. She looked around and noticed that women had lined

up all around the edge of the pit, stretching their arms upwards. She could hear chanting and

could feel magic throbbing through the air, but her eye was too weak to open up to view what

was happening in the magic plane. Pain tore through her and she closed her eyes letting tears slip

out of her eyes, feeling them course down the side of her face.

“Maxine,” a voice whispered gently in her ear. She turned over to find herself staring into

the deep blue eyes of Amar. “You’re going to be ok,” he said gently. She bit her lip and nodded

numbly wishing she had the strength to say something back to him. Dear stars it was almost

worth it to be in this much pain with Amar laying so close to her. His features were not contorted

in his normal coldness, but were instead soft and filled with a concern that almost looked as

painful as the cold that tore through her.

She felt Amar reach under her blankets and felt him touch her hand. The contact sent

goose bumps up through her body. He intertwined his fingers through hers and together the two

of them lay like that, lost in their own world, the voices of vampires chanting muffled

somewhere in the distant background. Almost reluctantly she closed her eyes and gave herself to

the encroaching darkness. She prayed more than anything in the world that when she woke up

Amar’s hand would still be there.

***

The heat that coursed through her was almost suffocating. She groaned shifting under the

blankets twisting around, the rich aroma of perfume and sweet smelling meats filling her nostrils.

She sat up, letting the blankets fall off of her. She grabbed for them almost immediately

remembering in a moment of horror that she was naked, but stopped as she stared down at

herself. She was dressed. Not only just dressed but she had been bathed, too, and so had her

clothes it seemed. She peered at herself, especially her fingernails. Someone had went to the

effort of even trimming and shaping them for her getting out the cracks and chips, as well as the

dirt from underneath. She couldn’t remember the last time her fingernails were this tidy.

Probably never.

Locks of her hair fell into her face and she realized that that, too, had been brushed out,

but had been left down to fall around her shoulders. She wrinkled her nose at that wishing they

could have at least taken the time to redo her braid. Getting to her feet she tucked the locks

behind her ear and went to investigate the source of those wonderful smells of food.

She realized the room in which she was in was huge and that there was another pit similar

to the one she was in. This is where the smell was coming from and where everyone was

currently sitting. Females sat on every step down into the pit, some laying with pillows and

blankets propping them up, some even standing. She could see Dresdin sitting on one of the

steps, too, close to one of the women. Mina, she assumed wanting to get a good look at her, but

the only thing Maxine could concentrate on with the females was what they were wearing!

Every single one of them were young voluptuous women with the perfect curves and

bodies, and they flaunted this. The gowns they wore were silky, gauzy, and incredibly

transparent. Maybe not completely see through, but they did very little to cover them up. Oh dear

stars! She felt herself going red in the face just staring at them.

And in the exact middle was Kriss with a goofy look on his face as he sat with all of the

women surrounding him. A little off center sat Amar, who was staring very hard down at his

plate of food. Maxine couldn’t quite make out the conversation, but whatever it was, Amar was

not inclined to join in while Kriss was keeping up enough for the both of them.

Pulling herself together, she stepped up to the edge and cleared her throat. All eyes

snapped around to her, but none probably faster than Amar’s.

“Drakkar’s awake!” someone squealed in an annoying high pitch.

It set off a chain reaction. Suddenly forty different women were squealing and all rushing

up to greet her, patting her, and saying other words that she couldn’t quite catch. She was

completely surrounded! And then suddenly she was being ushered forward, down the steps, and

into the pit. Within seconds a plate of food was in her lap along with something in the cup that

fizzed, and was encouraged to eat to her heart’s content. Amar and Kriss sat on either side of her.

“How are you feeling?” Amar asked her leaning into her ear so she could hear him.

She looked up and met his blue eyes and suddenly remembered staring into them what

seemed an eternity ago. She flushed bright red and looked away, the sudden horror crashing

down around her – Amar had seen her naked! Absolutely without a single stitch of clothing!

How was she supposed to act around a guy that had seen her like that?!

She dropped her head and stared down hard at her plate, not wanting to meet his eyes

again, feeling heat rising to her cheeks, turning her at least fifty different shades of red. She was

so humiliated by the thought and pushed the plate away, sitting it on the floor.

“Maxine?” Amar asked, concern slipping into his voice. She felt a finger gently graze her

cheek trying to shift a lock of hair out from her face. “Hey, are you alright?”

“I’m…f-f-fine,” she managed to get out finally.

He shifted a little closer to her. “You really scared the hell out of me, you know? I

thought you were dead.”

She looked up at him trying to pull herself together. “S-sorry. It was terrifying. I can’t

believe that happened to me.” She looked up at Dresdin. “I had no way to fight that. What the

hell did Drakkar do?”

Dresdin snorted scratching at his chest. “He wasn’t as stupid as you, for one thing. Idiot,

when something’s attacking you on the magic plane next time how about you get the hell off of

it.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“I mean, every time you open your eye you step onto the magic plane. That’s the only

place where those demons existed. Unless it’s a demon that exists in both areas it’s simple to

avoid.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Amar argued. “Maxine’s the Elemental of Magic. Demons

distort fate. We’ve asked about this twice now and you keep throwing the question away. Why

do demons even give a damn about Maxine?”

The women around them went really quiet and a few began to disperse leaving them

behind. Dresdin followed them with his eyes until they had all left except for him and Mina. He

leaned forward. “The answer starts with one basic fact. Magic is Threads. Ever wonder why it’s

such a big secret? Have you not considered the question once since you learned?”

“I have,” Kriss confessed, crossings his arms, “but I’ve come up with no satisfying

conclusion. I can’t even think up a decent reason why it might be detrimental if people learned.”

Dresdin chuckled, a thick gravely sound. “Because it would scare the shit out of them.

Last chance, boys, you don’t have to know. You can stand up and walk out of this room and go

on with your blissful ignorance.”

“Forget it,” Amar answered. “Whatever is going on with Maxine, whatever she has to

deal with, I want to know. She shouldn’t be the only one left to do all of this alone.”

She stared across at Amar her heart racing rapidly. Did he know what it did to her when

he said things like that?

“Alright,” Dresdin said leaning forward. “It’s a secret because a really smart mortal

might start putting two and two together. The Fates are called the Spinners. They weave a

person’s fate from the moment they are born to the moment they die. It’s nothing certain, but just

a potential of the life force they have. Clotho spins it, Lachesis measures its length, and Atropos

decides where it ends. Together they create an individual’s Thread of Fate.”

“Common knowledge,” Amar said simply. “Together the Threads of Fate decide the

world’s destiny and maintain the balance.”

Dresdin yawned and leaned back on the step, propping himself up with a pillow and

getting comfortable, stretching out, and turning to Mina who sat on the step below him, playing

with her hair. “The Fates are called the Spinners. Drakkar is called the Weaver. Both entities

have power over an element in the form of a Thread.”

Maxine stopped, halfway to lifting a piece of food to her mouth. Her eyes widened as her

brain made the connection. She stood up dumping the plate of food. “That’s impossible!” she

screamed. “Are you really trying to tell me that the magic Threads, the things that not only I use,

but everyone else, every other entity that casts a spell, are actually the Threads of Fate.”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you,” Dresdin said with a deep chuckle, baring his

fangs. “Go on, Drakkarina, reach out and grab a Thread. Feel it pulsing in your hand, filled with

so much energy, so much life. When you made your element at the dawn of creation you piggy-

backed it off of the element that was already in place – Fate. Who knows why you did it. Maybe

because you were lazy. Maybe because it was already there. Or maybe it’s because you always

have been rather close with the Fates. No one will ever know now, but that is the truth of it.”

“W-wait!” Amar gasped jumping up to his own feet. “What are you saying? Are you

saying that every time I cast a spell I’m using… I’m… I’m using a person’s life.”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic,” he said with a wave of his hand, leaning closer to Mina’s neck

and giving it a lick. “Yes, you are, but it returns back to the normal. Every time you have pulled

a Thread out of the air, Drakkarina you have to have watched it growing back, replenishing the

line as if it were untouched, mending it.”

She relaxed a little and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I’ve seen that. So… I’m not really hurting

anyone, am I?”

“Not at all. Not normally anyways. Every day magic usage has little to no impact on fate.

However, ever wonder why the Elementals get really antsy about high level magic? How about

when Sorcerers fight each other? That’s sorta forbidden, isn’t it?”

“It’s forbidden because it could create a paradox, all of that magic at once!” she

protested.

“What is a paradox, sweetheart, if not a distortion in the balance. It breaks. Fates collide

that have no business being so close together, the system is unable to keep up with the re-

spinning of the used Threads, the balance tilts.”

“But… that makes magic sound dangerous. If we don’t tell people –“

“Magic is an element and it is still an integral piece of the system. Magic melds all of the

elements together. It creates the people, gives them souls, and they in turn create.”

“But… what about a vacant?” she asked. “Vacants can’t touch magic. Surely they still

have to have a Thread of Fate.”

“Oh, they do, but there’s just something in the spinning of the Thread that dictates that

they cannot channel magic. There’s a lot of vacant creatures and mortals.”

Mina reached up into the air and Maxine watched as she fingered a solitary red Thread,

before she ripped it out of the air. “The Thread of Fate for a creature you would call a ‘vacant’.”

Red. Red was the most powerful color of Restriction. “So people’s fates dictate what

colors exist.”

“Or maybe the other way around,” Dresdin said. “Who knows. Well – the Fates do. I’m

sure you used to, but you didn’t exactly share. Specifics on the relationship between you and

Spinners were always a mystery.”

Amar looked across at her sinking back down to the floor. “So… what is Maxine, then?

Elementals are supposed to be masses of their elements. If Maxine’s a mass of magic…”

“She’s also a mass of fate, too, huh?” Kriss finished.

“Which is why to a demon she smells so delicious. All that fate. Just walking around.

And now it’s mortal. A Thread of Fate was woven and connected to the Web at the time of her

Fall. Drakkar watched as Clotho spun it, watched as Lachesis measured it, and finally watched as

Atropos cut it. They laid it in his hands and held it the whole way down as he Fell to earth until it

was connected with his precious Web. The distortion in the balance caused by his releasing of

demons was rebalanced if only a little. Now you have been reborn and if anything your Thread

of Fate is even stronger than it was before. A delicious meal to lesser demons, to stronger

demons, if they could turn you, you could become the deciding factor over the balance of fate.”

Maxine felt dizzy, thoughts swirling around inside of her mind trying to come together

and form coherent thoughts. “I don’t want this,” she said miserably after a time. “As if I didn’t

think my position could be worse, turns out not only am I the Fallen One and the keeper of

magic, but turns out I have something to do with fate as well.” She sunk to the floor and buried

her head in her lap.

“I thought druids and demons only cared about Drakkar because of his role with the door

to Tartarus,” Amar said softly. “There’s a lot more to it than that. How much control over Fate

does she have?”

“Fate itself?” Mina asked softly, shivering at the touch of Dresdin who was licking her

neck again. “Drakkar has no control over it and is pulled along by it. It is the difference between

a cooper and a wine maker. The cooper makes the barrels that the wine maker uses. One does not

know the trade of the other, but they work in harmony nonetheless. The Fates spin the Threads

and there is powerful information inside of them, information that shapes a person’s destiny, but

Drakkar merely weaves, using the Threads as a powerful mixing agent to distort the assorted

elements to his liking. Drakkar probably knew more about Fate than most others, but he still did

not know as much as the Fates themselves. Probably the same holds true for the Fates, too.”

Maxine chewed her lip for a moment and then looked up at the two vampires. “But you

aren’t interested in me like that?” she asked.

Mina smiled softly. “We are very interested in Fate. As demons we have certain powers. I

am able to connect with the Threads and to try to follow the paths set to try to understand the

larger tapestry it is creating. In that way I am able to see bits of the future. That is the role of us

female vampires. I cannot see everything, but I knew that you would be coming close to our

domain in search of the Demon’s Eye. That is why I sent Dresdin out to save you.”

“As for male vampires,” Dresdin said, his voice thick, “we can manipulate the Threads of

Fate and reorganize them a bit. That is how Drakkar lost to me. I was the first Demon Lord he

came up against that had the power to manipulate his element. I cannot Weave or create spells as

he does, but I was certainly able to pull them out of his grasp.” He looked up and gave her a wide

grin. “I was even able to change the colors and widths on some of the Threads he tried to reach

for.”

Maxine blinked and gaped at him. That could be the difference between an fireball spell

turning into a lake of fire consuming a whole area – or just simply a tiny flick of fire. She filed

that away for future reference. “So Demon Lords can manipulate the Threads because they are

the same as fate which gives them power over magic, too.”

“Exactly,” Dresdin said. “Depending on the demon and its expertise can be the difference

of it stopping your spell or knowing what you are about to do three minutes from now.”

“Dresdin, the orbs that I’m going after… the Demon’s Eyes… what exactly is it that they

do?” This demon that Alain wanted power and control over.

Dresdin clicked his tongue sitting up. “Didn’t they even tell you that much? Bastards.

The Demon’s Eyes belong to a demon named Panoptes that Drakkar sealed away. Drakkar

literally had to rip the eyes out of the thing before he was able to conquer it. That was the source

of its powers from what I understood of what he told me.”

“Drakkar sealed it away?” Amar asked, stunned. “Why didn’t he just kill the damn

thing?”

“You’re missing the overall point, boy. Drakkar did not hunt demons to kill them. He

hunted them to return them back to Tartarus. Like it or not, demons are as much a part of the

balance in this world as any human or animal. We are just the flip side of the coin. You normal

mortal beings are one side of the balance, demons are the other. Releasing us from Tartarus

impacted the balance by allowing us to insert ourselves in parts of the Web where we should

never have been. It gave us more control and the balanced tipped, dramatically.”

“Why wouldn’t he have just thrown it back into Tartarus?” Maxine asked. “Did Drakkar

make a habit of just sealing demons away?”

“Drakkar had a reason for everything that he did, some more obscure than others. To be

perfectly honest, kid, I couldn’t tell you.”

“Then would you have any guess as to why a Sorceress of Mind Control might be

interested in it?” Kriss asked.

“Heh, easy. Panoptes has similar power to Drakkar but there is one very distinct

difference – he has power over fate.”

“But would Alain have the ability to control it?” Amar asked. “It’s a demon. She can’t

gain mind control over demons that’s one of the things that’s always disinterested her with

them.”

Dresdin scratched his chin mulling this over for a moment. “Some demons could be

considered maybe humanoid enough that a Sorceress could control us. Either that or maybe she’s

picked up some tricks from a druid to supplement that. Hard to say. I don’t know how her magic

works in conjunction with Panoptes. To her, it might be willing to take the chance.”

Maxine sighed and hugged herself, fear overcoming her again. “If we can’t stop her the

Elementals have threatened to do a purge and erase everything that risks the balance, including

me. I have to get that orb. At least one to stop her from being able to release that demon.”

“Heh, well, let me tell you, you have one thing in your favor there, kid. As long as there

is a chance for you to succeed after having sent you on this insane quest, they have locked their

own selves down,” Dresdin said with a small chuckle.

“They cannot purge unless there is no chance for success for the one they sent to prevent

stop it. Remember always that Elementals must not interfere with mortal matters. Even if the

chance for success is only .0000001% then they cannot do a single thing about it.”

Right now, Maxine was sure that was about the chance of success that they had. She

turned to Dresdin. “You said you knew where the next orb is?”

“Yep,” he confirmed with a sly smirk. She noticed an evil gleam appear in his eyes. “You

should be close enough that you could locate it yourself.”

The underlying message was clear enough even for her simple mind to catch. “And you

have no intention whatsoever in helping me,” she stated rather than asked.

“For the service of getting you here, that was free and completely out of respect for my

old friend and lord,” he said, folding his hands behind his head. “You, though, pet, have

exhausted all of your free coupons. You want my help it’s gonna cost.”

Amar stood up, grabbing his gold pole. “You brought her here. You realize that she’s

now stuck in the middle of demon territory.”

“Poor babe,” Dresdin replied with a grin full of teeth and fangs.

Amar started to open his mouth to scream more but Maxine jumped to her feet and pulled

him back down. “Amar, Amar, it’s alright. Calm down.”

He spun on her instead screaming at her. “It’s not alright. What demons are going to

waiting outside for you the moment you take one step outside of this place?”

That he cared that much for her to scream that made her heart swell. It took a moment for

her to regain her head to answer. She stared down at where she still held him and realized she

was holding his hand. She released it quickly feeling heat spreading through her again. “I don’t

know, Amar,” she said finally. “I don’t have the answer you’re wanting and you have no idea

how terrified I am. Panicking and getting angry at a demon for being a demon, though, is not

going to resolve the situation. At the end of the day the fact remained that we still needed to get

here, and…” her words trailed off, not wanting to voice what she knew needed to be stated.

“And maybe giving a demon a little of her blood for services isn’t a bad idea,” Kriss

finished for her, being careful not to meet Amar’s eyes.

“She will not!” he screamed whirling on the sprite. He spun back around to Dresdin.

“You will stay away from her!”

Dresdin’s smile was wide and his red eyes seemed to glow. “Just remember, warlock,

better me chewing on her neck than another demon. The contract is between me and her in the

end.”

Mina stood up before Amar could raise another protest. “This conversation may be

concluded later between the respective parties,” she said simply, sweeping her gaze around the

group of them. “For now, though, our lord has returned, and there are others besides us who have

waited for this moment and are looking forward to it. Come. Ladies,” she shouted raising her

voice to the group of women in the back, “let us escort our precious Drakkar to the throne room

so that he may be presented to the whole of the hive.”

Amar’s eyes turned as round as saucers. “Wait! Wait! You aren’t taking her out there

amongst a group of vampires!”

Dresdin’s eyebrow raised and he sat forward. “Your lack of trust is astounding.”

Amar turned and glared at him raising a hand to his scratches. “Every time I trust

something it ends up leaving a painful scar on my body.”

Kriss reached around and grabbed Amar by his pole and tugged at him. “Look at it this

way, Amar. We’re trapped inside the hive. One spot is as bad as any other. I’d say it’s a little late

to start protesting. Come on. Girls don’t like guy who protest too much. Makes you look like a

whiner.”

Maxine sighed and followed behind Amar and Kriss listening to the two of them arguing,

her fear of the future starting to crush down on top of her.

Chapter 26 The moment she entered the throne room Maxine felt as if she had entered another world.

The room was crowded with hundreds of bodies. There were at least five large pits depressed

into the floor all of them filled much the same as the room from which she had left. In addition to

this there were at least eight balconies up above, large streamers hanging down from the ceiling.

Maxine watched as a vampire reached and grabbed one of these streamers and pulled himself up

hand over hand up its full length until he could jump into one of the balconies.

More impressive yet was at the very end of the room. On the usual raised dais sat two

ebony black thrones with ugly horns and claw-like legs. They were cushioned in red and

impressed her as much as Emperor Ghental’s throne had. What truly caught her eye, though, was

what sat above that, looking as if it had no place in a room as dark and evil as this. Standing on

its own raised dais above the two thrones was another that glowed pure feather-white, the top

corners of the back carved into the form of angelic wings that spanned outwards at least a foot.

The moment she sat foot across the threshold the entire room went dead silent and

hundreds of red eyes turned to look at her. Amar turned back and gave her a desperate look, but

she shook her head and took a deep breath. “Calm down, Amar,” she commanded, walking past

him. Where she was pulling her courage from she had no idea.

She walked up to meet Dresdin and Mina and together the three of them walked through

the room, her heart pounded the whole time. She wasn’t too sure what part she was more

surprised about. The fact that none of them attacked her or that instead they all raised their hands

and started clapping and cheering for her, some even whistling.

“Welcome home, Drakkar!” she heard others screaming, along with a few, “Woah, he

really is back,” and a few other statements of awe that she didn’t quite catch.

It was ironic to the say the least. Usually when she walked into a room she was met with

accusatory glares and sneers, people always waiting for her to make her next big screw up. Here

she was amongst a group of demons, though… being accepted, if even exulted.

“That throne?” she asked Mina. “Is that Drakkar’s?”

“It was,” the woman confirmed. “We made it, the girls and I. Drakkar was so depressed

when the last of his shrines was finally destroyed. We made this for him and told him that even if

the rest of the world no longer exulted in him, we always would. He was a very dear friend to

us.”

Staring up at it, it made Maxine wonder just what sort of person Drakkar was. Looking

around the room it amazed her to think that someone could have captured the fascination of this

multitude of demons like that. Was he evil? Or was he something else?

She was lead to one of the pits where she was given the most central seat and propped up

to be as comfortable as possible amongst the many blankets, silks, and pillows. Amar and Kriss

were lead to seats close to her but it wasn’t long before she had lost complete sight of them. She

was the center of attention for the demons and it was clear that a human boy and sprite was

barely worth their time. Vampires surrounded her on all sides before long and for a while her

heart pounded against her chest, fear crashing over her in cold waves as she took in all the sharp

fangs and sharp claws.

However, most of the comments were mild. Most of them were just eager to get a look at

their ‘Drakkar Reborn.’ A few tried to test her knowledge of things as if to prove themselves that

she had indeed forgotten everything. A few others reacted little differently than Dresdin, trying

to peer down her shirt to verify that, yes, she really was a girl.

This was the final straw. She stood up and whirled around catching the collar of the

vampire that had been peering over her shoulder about to reach down and pulled back her arm.

“The next person who tries to look down my shirt,” she screamed at him and the rest of the

room, “I swear I’ll bury my fist in their face!”

She released the hapless vampire and watched as he stumbled back. The whole room

burst out into and uproar of laughter and clapping, a few of them patting her back. “That’s our

Drakkar!” someone shouted. “Take no crap from anyone, right boss?”

“Heh, she’s just a puny pathetic human. How hard could a punch from you hurt, kid?”

She glared up at him, sizing him up and reached up and cracked her knuckles. “Get your

face down here, tiny, and you just might find out.”

He walked down the steps, his red eyes not leaving her, the crowds breaking around him,

many of them calling out jeers and a few others cheering her on. He stopped on the last step and

bent over. “Try it, human,” he growled, “I bet you ain’t got the balls.”

Maxine sniffed, “No shit, moron. I’m a girl, remember.” She yanked her arm back and

twisted her body, gaining as much momentum as she could to throw into her swing. The blow

connected hard with his chin, pain instantly flaring through her knuckles making her jump back

wagging her hand.

The vampire stumbled back his eyes wide, but Maxine had no delusions. The vampire

had been shocked that she had actually done it. She had taken him by surprise. Her punch had

been comparable to slamming her fist up against the stones walls that made up this place.

Laughter erupted through the room. The vampire blinked a few times and shook his head

turning back to her. Before she had time to even think about getting the hell out of there a long

arm snaked out and caught her by her shirt. She was raised high up into the air by her collar

twisting it. He then spun around, slinging her around with him, and released sending her flying

across the room. The vampires had cut a neat path for her trajectory none of them interested in

actually stopping her flight, all too eager to see where she would end up. Her body connected

with floor and she went rolling a few paces until she finally came to a stop.

Bastard she thought as she pulled herself up off the floor. She looked up just in time to

see him racing towards her again. What? But she only took one swing! Ok, now this was just

unfair! Clicking her tongue she did the only thing she could think of. She dived for his leg just

before he reached her and grabbed it wrapping herself around it and holding on. Carried on by

his inertia the vampire went tumbling forward unable to keep his balance, falling to the floor

with a shout. She pulled herself out from under him and barely gave it any thought as she created

a wooden stake. The vampire had enough time to roll over on the floor before she was half

straddling, half sitting on him, holding the stake over his heart.

“This works against you creeps, doesn’t it? That’s what I heard anyways,” she said, all

the muscles in her body tense.

The vampire lay there gaping at the stake for a long time before a smile finally grew

across his face. “Heh, looks like you haven’t forgotten how to fight, Drakkar.” He waved his

hand. “I’m out,” he said with a laugh.

Maxine released the Threads on the stake allowing it to disappear and fall away into tiny

glittering shards. She then stepped back off of him and held out a hand to help him up. “Name’s

Maxine, not Drakkar, by the way. Get it straight or I might just have to take you out again.”

Vampires pressed in again on her, clapping and pounding her back, laughing hard and

teasing the two of them. Of course she could be wrong, but it definitely felt like she had done

something that they approved of, and she found herself smiling in spite of herself. She burst out

laughing when a vampire took her and lifted her up into the air and carried her back to the pit.

Food and drink were delivered at some point and Maxine realized with some fascination

that vampires were actually really good cooks. The food did nothing for them sustenance wise,

but their senses were heightened including their taste and smell. Food and drink were an

obsession of theirs. Someone handed her a cup of strange red liquid that gave her pause at first

until she sipped it (the vampire’s finding great amusement at her hesitation). To her great delight

she realized that it was the same wine that she had snuck a drink of at the hotel in Ailis City –

and the vampires had no compunctions about giving alcohol to a minor.

After downing half the glass she gave up and let her doubts and fears fall away giving

herself over to the vampires and enjoying their jokes and conversations, telling a few amusing

stories of her own life. For once in her life she was having fun and she didn’t think that it was the

wine in her head giving her that impression. At one point someone brought out a small wood cup

that was filled with what sounded like dice.

“How about it, Maxine?” the vampire asked giving the cup a meaningful shake. “You like

gambling as much as Drakkar?”

Excitement flooded through her and she licked her lips, eagerness overcoming her. “Just

one prob, though,” she said. “I’ve got nothing to gamble and don’t even ask for blood because

that’s a no-go.”

This announcement was met with laughs and the vampire sat down beside her while

others cleared a space for the dice. “Drakkar owed me a debt of five gold coins.” He grabbed her

hand and shoved something cold and shiny in it. “Let’s make that an even ten?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Great. I get reborn and am forced to endure a heavenly

punishment and now I’ve got a debt, too. I really should have a talk with my predecessor,” she

said with a wide grin. “Let’s do this, then,” she said scooting over and listening intently as the

vampires explained the rules.

Two hours later the group of vampires had shifted to include others while others left and

Maxine’s pile of money had increased. Not by a ridiculously large margin but enough to be

satisfying she thought. She shook the cup again and released the dice. They clattered across the

floor until they finally came to rest and she giggled evilly. “I win again!” she shouted reaching

out for the dice.

“Wait, wait, wait! Hold on!” Amar shouted grabbing her wrist. “There’s no way!” he

shouted reaching out and grabbing the dice. He stared down at it and then glared up at her. “You

are. You are cheating,” he shouted at her. “You weighed it down!”

She flinched and the group burst out laughing around her. “I-I-I did not!” she shouted.

“How the heck do you think I’m going to do that?”

“Cheat! You’ve been using her magic to weigh them down, haven’t you?” Scowling he

threw the dice in the cup and then upturned it over on her head with a wide grin. “Pathetic!” He

then looked up at them. “And none of you seem surprised by this.”

“It was more amusing to let the little lady think she was getting one over on us. Drakkar

rarely played fair. His tricks were far more inventive, though, but we’ll give her some credit

considering how new she is.”

That comment hurt more than actually having been discovered. She flicked her hair and

wrinkled her nose. “Heh, when I grow up I swear that I’m going to be so amazing Drakkar’s not

going to have anything on me.”

The was met with riot laughter. At that point Kriss came stumbling over, tripped over a

blanket, and crashed into their dice game. She blinked, gaping at him for a long while until he sat

up, his antennae were both crisscrossed and tangled into his hair, his wings flattened against his

back. Maxine leaned closer and noticed that there were red lipstick stains all over his face.

She wrinkled her nose and sat back. “You’re drunk!” she accused him.

“Yeah,” he said in a dreamy tone. “Isn’t it wonderful.” He sat up on his knees and laid his

head on her lap giving her a wide smile. “So many pretty girls,” he said with a strange smile on

his face.

Amar reached over with his leg and kicked the sprite hard. “You disgusting bug,” he

accused him.

Kriss fell back to the floor laughing. “No wonder Drakkar never wanted to leave here.

Best day ever.”

Looking around at the people surrounding her she had to agree. Despite their sharp claws,

and disturbing teeth the vampires were a wonderful fun loving group. Best yet this was the first

place and the first time she had ever felt that she could just be herself. No one was judging her or

waiting for her to make another mistake. No one was trying to stifle her or demand that she act in

another way. They welcomed her to be herself.

Why did it take demons for her to feel accepted somewhere?

***

It was hard to tell what time it was and the vampires didn’t particularly seem to care.

Maxine only knew when she was getting sleepy. Together the three of them were invited to sleep

in one of the pits. Looking around her she noticed that most of the other vampires were also

crashing where they lay, though she did watch others get up and head off to their rooms. Kriss

was the first to fall asleep, swimming away on alcohol and muttering something about see

through dresses.

Scowling at the sprite, Amar pushed him to the side and took a spot close to him.

Yawning widely she settled down close just slightly apart from them a part of her wishing that

she could fall back to sleep with Amar holding her hand like he had done when she had been so

close to dying the previous night.

She had almost nodded off when someone passed by that caught her eye. She sat up and

watched as Dresdin crossed the room and turned the corner disappearing from sight. Looking

across at Amar she pulled her courage together and jumped up out of the bed running after the

vampire, fear her heart racing but her mind set.

She lost him for only just a moment, the wine in her system not making it any easier to

keep focused, but after turning several corners, she found the demon lord again leaned up against

the wall. “Can I help you with something?” he asked her as soon as their eyes met.

She stood there trembling her mind fighting itself with her choice. “I… I’ll do it,” she

said finally. “You said you would help if I give you a little bit of my blood. That’s how this

works, right?”

“That’s exactly how this works,” he said with a cruel grin. “I get a little bit of your blood

now and again and in exchange you let me feed off you now and again.”

“How much?” The question almost made her sick to her stomach.

“Usually, only three vials worth. I prick you, you fill the vials, that’s it.”

That caught her off guard and she reached up to her neck. “S-so you don’t actually bit

me?”

“Normally? No. But for the bigger jobs, jobs where my life and the life of my crew were

most definitely going to be placed in jeopardy, I demanded it. Not just because of the extra

expense but your blood gives me added strength and I would feed that to my crew, letting them

have a taste of my blood after I had fed off of you. However, this time…” Here he stood up off

of the wall and stared down at her, his red eyes hard and cold. “This could be considered a new

contract, Maxine. What I have done so far was to honor the fact that you are the reincarnation of

my old friend Drakkar, but that only gets you so far. While you are the same you still have

different personality quirks and you will require far more attention than he did.”

She nodded at this statement. “I know. I’m only beginning to fully grasp my magic.

Drakkar had it for hundreds of years.”

“Millions,” Dresdin corrected her.

“I need to do this. I need all the help that I can get. Maybe I can do this on my own, but

I’m not going to risk the life of my two friends for that. I’m already the Fallen One so I doubt

this is going to do a whole lot to ruin my reputation and it might just keep me alive. I… I think it

would be foolish for me to try to do this alone.”

“You’re practically a new person so let’s consider this a new contract. I will demand that

I get to a fresh bite from you.”

Maxine paled at that, but it’s what she had expected from the beginning anyways. “How

long does it last? I’m still going to need strength to fight.”

“It would take ten minutes to drain you completely. Seven to put you at a weakened state.

I will be happy with five –“

“Three!” she shouted. “And even that’s too long in my mind.” The idea of his teeth sunk

into her skin for a whole five minutes made her feel weak at the knees. “You hurt Amar and

almost tried to take from me. You owe me a bit of compensation for that.”

She was afraid that Dresdin would react negatively and argue, but a small smile crept

across his face. “It always amused me when I would stand negotiating with Drakkar about the

length of time. You realize I do not normally ask my food like this.”

“I’m not your food, now am I?” She folded her arms and tossed her head. “I’m the one

you call Lord. Whether or not we will be friends in the future still remains to be seen.”

This only widened Dresdin’s smile and he bowed to her, though she did not detect that he

was mocking her in any way. She was beginning to get the feeling that Dresdin liked to be

dominated – or maybe it just amused the hell out of it that a weaker being would try and he gave

credit where he felt it was due.

“Very well,” he said turning around and opening a door that he was standing beside.

“Three minutes, Lady Maxine.” Saying this he disappeared inside leaving the door open behind

him. Maxine stared at the open portal for a moment before pulling her courage together, a cold

chill creeping over her.

“Amar’s going to kill me,” she muttered before stepping in.

The room was just a simple room, but like the others there were no beds, just a pit in the

center of the floor with steps downwards, and a warm brazier in the middle. It didn’t feel

majestic in anyway so she just had a feeling this was just a random room and nothing personal to

Dresdin. “Sit on the last step and roll up your sleeve,” he commanded crossing over to the side

and opening a drawer in a small desk, sifting for some items.

Licking her dry lips she walked down the steps doing as instructed, rolling up the sleeve

of her left arm. The brazier was warm but she was still freezing.

“Relax. I can smell your fear and it only makes me more hungry.”

Yeah, thanks Dresdin, that was definitely going to go a long way to helping her relax, she

thought sarcastically. Damn vampire.

A few minutes later he crossed over to her and she found three delicate ornate vials in his

hands. Using his teeth and fangs, he pulled the stopper loose on them and set the corks to the

side. Without even giving her a moment to prepare he lifted her arm up to his mouth and bit her

wrist. There was a sharp prick of pain and then nothing else, but the blood flowed eagerly from

the two bite wounds as if she had been critically wounded. With expert care Dresdin filled up the

vials. She made the mistake of looking up at him while the vials filled and was met with hungry

dilated pupils. His lips glistened as if he were drooling in his mouth and constantly licking them.

When the last of the vials were filled, he tapped them off and bent forward licking the

remaining blood and the wounds. A shudder passed through her body and seemed to travel

through him. Yeah, she was definitely going to throw up here soon. He then took a strip of cloth

and pressed it to the bite marks and then tied it off with another bit of cloth. “It will stop soon,”

he said. “Undo your collar and let me at your neck,” he commanded.

This was a little harder to do than rolling her up sleeve. Her hands were trembling so bad

that it was hard for her to work the top two buttons of her shirt. Dresdin watched her with an

amused expression on his face, but offered no assistance – she wouldn’t have wanted it anyways.

She finally removed the buttons and was pulling her collar open to one side of her neck

when Dresdin grabbed her suddenly and before she could react his teeth were already in her

neck. She gasped and almost screamed, but somehow managed to choke it back. The pain was

intense but it was also brief, lasting for barely more than half a minute before the spot became

numb. After the first minute she could hardly feel his tongue working over the spot. She closed

her eyes and tried to imagine some happier place, trying to drown out the sounds of him sucking,

tried to imagine that it was Amar standing there with his arms wrapped around her and not a

demon’s.

And then the thought crossed her mind – oh dear stars, what if Dresdin didn’t stop? He

said vampires naturally did not drain their victims, and even by his own story of the first time he

had met Drakkar he had not done so. But the slash marks across Amar’s face had been very real.

Dresdin had been about to take from her at that moment. Just how much did Dresdin crave her

and just how much could she trust him?

Her mind was racing with the different possible actions she could take, none of them

ending very well in her mind, when Dresdin pulled away from her, snapping his lips loudly. She

blinked confused and sat back as he released her. “T-three minutes already?” she gasped.

Dresdin chuckled as he rose from her. Normally a gravelly sort of sound, it was now wet

and gurgling. “It’s your neck, you tell me.”

She jumped up and quickly tried to scamper to her feet, but the combination of blood loss

and the wine made her dizzy and she almost lost her footing. Dresdin did nothing to try to help

her having walked away and was already out of the pit and across the room. She sat back down

and took a moment to pull herself together. Dresdin crossed back to her with a cloth in his

hand“Contract struck, Lady Maxine,” he said, giving her name that extra sarcastic genuflection.

“My services and that of a select group of my hunting party are at your disposal.”

“Only a select group?” she asked numbly, as he pressed the cloth to her neck which was

still bleeding she realized. He applied pressure to it before taping it off to her skin.

“Yes,” he said. “Only those that I know are not only the top hunters in my clan and can

meet the challenges of other demons, but also of those who are most obedient and can withstand

the smell of your blood when it gets spilled. You should consider yourself lucky. At first there

were a few mishaps with previous members and Drakkar. It happens. The only new one in the

team is Navir and since he’s my son he has greater self-control than the rest as it is.”

Oh goody, she thought miserably. Yeah, she hadn’t considered that a possibility. If

Dresdin had almost lost control that other night, she wondered what might have happened if the

rest of the group had been there. Just how good of an idea was this contract thing in the first

place? Too late now, Maxine.

Dresdin rose from her and headed towards the door. “Tomorrow, then?” he asked, his

voice filled with amusement.

“Tomorrow,” she agreed numbly.

“My team and I will be ready to go bright and early. Remember, I can’t guarantee your

safety but we will do the best that we can.”

Dresdin didn’t wait for her to respond before he slipped out of the room leaving her

sitting there numb and a little sick. After a brief moment of self-pity she pulled herself together

and rose to her feet. “Get over it,” she scolded herself. “What if it’s a wraith guarding the orb?

Or more of those spider things? A were? Hell, if it’s a vampire I couldn’t even defeat that.”

She closed her eyes feeling that she had made the right decision and headed to the door

slipping out of it and closing it behind her, reaching up to redo her top buttons.

Her eyes met the deep ice blue of Amar’s and she froze where she stood. The warlock

stood there with a surprised expression on his face having stopped in mid step. The expression

quickly gave way to relief, and then almost immediately was replaced by anger. His grip on his

pole tightened, his knuckles glowing white against it and his mouth tightened along with it. He

spun around with a swirl of his robes and stomped back down the hallway.

“Amar,” she called out after him, but he didn’t stop. “Amar! Hey!” she shouted again

chasing after him.

She reached out to catch his hand but the moment he felt her touch he yanked his hand

away, but the touch was the final trigger. He whirled back on her, the anger having devolved into

rage. “Stay the hell away from me,” he hissed.

“Amar, listen to me,” she begged.

“Why should I? What the fuck do you care what I have to say? You did this behind my

back! You purposely went behind my back to do this.”

Tears were already starting to well up in her eyes. She had known he was going to be

angry but she was unprepared for this level of rage. “Amar, I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to hurt

you. I just thought –“

“Not hurt me? How the hell could you think going behind my back to do this would not

hurt me? That you betrayed me like that. Tell me, Maxine, what would you have done?! What

was your grand plan if that asshole decided to kill you?” he demanded, closing the space

between them. “You think I cared whether or not you gave him blood or you made that sort of

contract? The only damn thing I’ve ever cared about from the beginning was your safety. Look at

my face, dammit!” He reached out and grabbed her arm pulling her closer to him. “You think I

got these because that demon was safe?! Do you want to even know what thoughts were going

through my mind while I stood out there waiting to see if you came out alive? Fighting with

myself whether or not I should go in. And then he came out first and then you weren’t coming –

I thought I had made a mistake! Thought that maybe I should have went in after you.”

She had no answer for anything that he threw at her. The most she could was stand there

and take his reprimands. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I just didn’t want to get you involved. This

was my decision and I just didn’t –“

“Don’t want to get me involved? Since when have you ever been in control about me

being involved or not? I told you from the very beginning that I’m here because I want to be! I

told you I would protect you.”

She stepped forward her own anger starting to stir. “Look, Amar, I know that you feel

what I did was dangerous, but I had to do it, and I didn’t need you there to try to scare me away

from it. There’s no way I’m going to be strong enough to take on anything in this valley once I

leave this place.”

“So you decided to go behind my back?! I can’t do this Maxine. It’s one thing to protect

you from dangerous things and another to protect you from your own recklessness.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even think you would care this much.”

This only incited his anger even worse. “Not care?! How the hell could you possibly say

that?!” he screamed at her. “I was stabbed by my own aunt and left for dead, but I still came back

to save you. Then I even attacked a demon to try to save you.”

“Exactly,” she shouted back. “You have to be getting tired of being hurt over and over

again. I keep expecting that you are finally just going to give up and leave me. You don’t want to

die for me, right?”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“Of course not! I –“

“Then, I’m not going to leave you, Maxine!” he screamed at her. “I would rather die than

leave you. I –“ he stopped and his face flushed red. He took a moment and licked his lips before

continuing, “I like you,” he said finally.

The confession took her a moment to comprehend and then she felt her face redden. “You

like me?” she intoned, astonished.

“Don’t make me say it again,” he said angrily. “Maxine you’re the only person in this

whole damn world that’s ever given a shit about me and the only person I believe would never

turn against me. On top of that you’re amazing. You’re brave, a lot of fun, and intelligent, even

when you are doing something insane.”

Every word made her more embarrassed and she fidgeted under his icy cool stare. Odd,

she didn’t think she was any of those things. Was he really referring to her?

“I can’t believe you did this to me,” he continued, taking a step back. “You completely

shut me out and went off to do something dangerous. All I want to do is make sure that you stay

safe. Dammit,” he swore, running a shaky hand through his hair. “If you die what am I left with?

I’m back to having no one, just spending every day of my life trying to avoid my aunt. Only it

will be worse. I’ll know what it was like to have had someone in my life for a little moment. I’ll

–“

“I like you, too,” she said, interrupting him, finally finding her voice.

Amar’s body went completely stiff and he his sentence dropped off completely forgotten.

His eyes that had been looking away from her traveled back to her slowly. “D-do what?”

She reached out for his hand, excitement flooding through her. “I like you, too, Amar! A

lot.”

Amar sighed and shook his head. “You moron. That’s not what I meant,” he said with a

bitter tone. “It’s not the same. The like you’re talking about and the like I’m talking about are

different.”

She stomped her foot anger passing through her. “Wait, don’t tell me how I feel. I know

exactly how I feel and I know what I’m talking about and I know what you mean. I like like

you,” she said, reddening again at the confession.

He gaped at her for a long moment. “Eh? R-really?”

Now she was just starting to get annoyed. “Why’s it ok to make me repeat myself?” she

shot back at him.

He continued to gape for a moment before finally shaking his head and taking a few steps

back from her. “Now I know you really are a moron. As if being friends with a warlock wasn’t

bad enough.”

She gawked at him her anger starting to flare. “A girl just confesses to you and you call

her a moron?! Wait – what was the point of confessing to me, then?”

“I didn’t think you’d care! No, I – I don’t know, ok?” he said waving his arm through the

air dramatically. “I just… I had to say it.”

The two of them stood there for a long awkward moment, neither of them talking.

Maxine tried desperately to search her mind desperately for something else to say. What else was

there to say? Damn, this was not like any school confession that she had ever listened to before.

Go figure. Trust her to foul this up, too. Maybe she should have just kept quiet.

“Will you say something,” he demanded suddenly.

“Wait, me? What the hell am I supposed to say?”

“Hell if I know. Dammit,” he said, running a hand back through is hair again, “you ruined

what I was screaming at you about.”

The reminder of their argument caused her to wince and look away. A soft touch at her

neck brought her back around to find Amar gently pulling the bandage back to look at the wound

underneath. “Did it hurt?” he asked.

“Not as much as you would think,” she answered. “The neck part was just because it’s a

‘new contract.’ Most of the time he just takes from my wrist. Just piercing it to get the blood and

filling it into some vials,” she said holding up her wrist to show him.

Amar’s eyes briefly settled on her wrist before traveling back up to her face, his hand still

on her neck. She felt his fingertips rise, sliding up her neck and into her hair. “I should have been

there for you,” he said softly, then suddenly he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

Maxine’s mind stopped, the world ceasing to exist around her. All that was left was Amar

himself, his touch up against her head pushing her forward into him, and his lips pressed up

against hers. She heard something metallic clang to the floor and then there was a hand pressed

up against her back, pushing her forward into him, closing the space between them. She stood

there motionless until her brain finally registered that, yes, she was definitely being kissed.

Feeling heat course through her body she raised her arms up and wrapped them around Amar and

closed her eyes, giving herself over to the kiss, returning it, the earthen scent of Amar filling her

nose. He responded by deepening the kiss, pressing his lips up to her just a little bit harder than

before. The only thing her mind could process was how wonderful this was! It was nothing like

her first kiss.

Amar’s lips left hers, but for the longest time the space between them remained as it was,

neither one of them moving, neither dropping their arms.

“I kissed you,” Amar said, a simple matter of fact statement devoid of even his usual

coldness.

“I know. I was there,” she answered back, no hint of sarcasm in the words despite how

they must have sounded.

“I’ve never kissed a girl before.”

That confession made her blush a lot. “I-It was very nice,” she replied clumsily.

Amar pulled away from her with a soft intake of breath. The world slammed back into

place and she felt herself looking around, shocked by its sudden presence again. He reached

down and picked up his gold pole off the floor, and she noticed that his hands were trembling

despite how calm he looked. He then looked back at her, a determined look in his eyes. “Maxine,

can I… umm… c-can you, umm… can we…” He stopped and paused, shaking his head as if to

clear it. Then he turned back to her. “I want to be your boyfriend.”

Embarrassment traveled through her whole body, and she could only imagine that she

must look as red as a tomato, but an uncontrollable grin spread across her face. “Yes!” she

shouted. “And, I get to be your girlfriend?” Her head felt dizzy and her thoughts were muddled

and jumbled. She was sure that what she had just said was probably pathetic in some ways.

He reached out and took her hand, a smile – a genuine smile – spread across his face. “I

think that’s usually how it works.”

Feeling giddy with excitement she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a

tight embrace, the world fading away again.

Chapter 27 “Amar, as your friend, let me just be the first to say, congratulations,” Kriss said

cheerfully.

Amar stared down at the sprite with a shocked look. “We’re friends?”

Kriss ignored this and continued on. “And, Maxine, as your friend, let me just be the first

to say, you could have done much better.”

“Yeah, I’m going to kill this damn moth,” Amar said taking a step towards him while she

held him back giggling.

She was glad for the light banter between them. Inside she was terrified and cast yet

another quick look at Dresdin and Navir walking ahead of her. Reassured yet again by their

presence she let her eyes drop back to the ground, her mind racing with all of her spells and all

the things that she needed to keep fresh and ready to pull out when the moment came. She had

the vampires, but she was determined not to rely on them.

Amar’s hand touched hers and they interlocked fingers. “It’s alright,” he said gently.

“We’re here to help. Whatever attacks you I swear I’ll protect you.”

Wonderful thinking, except what if something happened to him instead. How was she

supposed to feel about that? Just let it happen to him? Let him be the one who dies in her place.

She decided not to bring that up to him. No need to incite Amar’s anger and ruin his good mood.

Besides, she liked hearing him say those sorts of things to her.

“We’re here,” Dresdin called out minutes later and the warm glow she had been feeling

by holding hands with Amar was instantly gone. Pulling her courage together she stepped

forward and found herself facing a dome made out of multicolored Threads.

The sight of it took her by surprise. Blinking and closing her third eye she could just

barely make it out as a shimmering in the air, but Kriss and Amar had clearly caught it, stepping

up to it and looking it over. “What this?” Amar asked. “Some sort of barrier spell?”

“It’s a one way seal,” Maxine answered looking it over, connecting with the Web and

analyzing it. “Whatever goes in can’t go out.”

Amar looked over at her, “Sounds like another spell for you to get rid of,” he suggested.

She shook her head staring back at him. “No. I can sense Drakkar’s handiwork in this.

I’m not sure what he did exactly, but it would take me weeks to unravel this if I even could at

that point. He wanted to make sure that this Web was sealed. I even sense some time magic

inside of it. I’m afraid I can’t just pull a string here and get rid of it. It just reminds itself.”

“How do we get out then?” Kriss asked nervously.

“Heh, you have to defeat whatever’s inside, naturally,” Dresdin answered before she

could.

Maxine looked up at him. “You have any qualms with entering?” she asked.

“Not a one,” Dresdin answered, flexing his claws. “You see, the ironic pat about these

sorts of seals is that the spell is looking for something – a heartbeat. If it finds it and the right

criteria is in place it stops that heartbeat. I’m dead. I don’t have a heartbeat. Vampires are

impervious to seals. Not even the current seal on Tartarus can stop me.”

She nodded and turned to Amar and Kriss but before she could talk Kriss interrupted her.

“Uh, oh. Look out. Here it comes! She’s going to tell us to stay.”

“Like hell she is,” Amar growled looking at her with cold eyes.

“But –“

Amar and Kriss both grabbed her arm and yanked her through the seal stepping through

it. “No choice now,” Kriss said simply. “We’re stuck.”

She stood there stunned for a long while, anger and fear crashing over her in waves. “I

don’t believe you did that!” she screamed.

Amar ignored her, reaching down and pulling out Shion from her sheath and thrusting it

into her hands. “Get over it. Come on, Weaver.”

She swallowed feeling numb inside, but turned around and faced the area around her. It

was large wide clearing, the dome of the barrier rising high into the air and disappearing. The

entire circumference of it had to be roughly a half mile around. There was no obstructions or

obstacles in the clearing, not even a single tree, just a single object that she could barely make

out in the distance. Pulling her courage together that was where they headed for, keeping alert for

any sign of danger.

The object in the middle of the clearing was eerily familiar. A white statue of Drakkar

much the same

[section taken off of new rewrite that I don’t want to lose –has good material in it]

Dresdin laughed. “I know that, but the similarities are there. That defiant, rebellious look for one.

Several times when we were walking I would turn and I swear I was looking at Drakkar. You

lack his egotistical attitude and you know fear, but that bravado is there. At first when the Were

attacked I thought you were just going to stand back and let the two boys do the heavy lifting.

Heh, you drew that sword of yours and as clumsy as you were, you still managed to get a swipe

in. Yeah, you’re going to be amusing as hell. Dealing with a Drakkar that knows the fear of

losing his life sounds thrilling. I’m truly looking forward to it.

“Besides, I’m a Demon Lord. The Balance is an obsession of mine, like all the lords. Only I’m

not like the other demons, which is probably why Drakkar took the chance with me that he did. I

want to maintain the balance, not tilt it. In whose favor the Balance exists for, I care little, but if

it tilts too much to the left, then we lose our food source. If it tilts too far the right we risk our

lives.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, you lost me again. I’ve no clue about this Balance thing. Remus

mentioned it a few times, but he was too busy teaching me other things. He said not to worry

about it for now.”

“That damn Remus is fool,” Dresdin barked. “You are the top of the hierarchy. The balance is

you. We’ve seen your fate. We know the prophecies. You would be delusional to think they have

nothing to do with the balance.”

She was too confused to be able to understand. “The Brotherhood of Sorcerers don’t even

understand the prophecies. No one knows what’s going to happen – are you claiming to have

some sort of insight that they don’t?”

“As vampires we have limited ability over the Threads of Fate. We males can control and use it

against our victims, and our women have limited sight to be able to peer into Threads and to

understand the Web. Our access is weak but we are still trying to understand it. That is how we

knew that you had lost the sword. We know about your threat of purge. There is an unseen hand

pulling at the Threads. We suspect a demon is tampering with it, working hard to tangle the Web

to obscure himself.”

Her eyes widened and she leaned forward. “A demon’s messing with my fate? B-but why? What

does a demon even care about me for? I know I’m the reincarnation of the Demon Slayer, but –“

Kriss reached out and grabbed her arm silencing her. “Threads. The Threads of Fate. Fate’s

Tapestry. We’ve grown up with these words, but magic’s element is a secret. Maxine says Magic

is Threads. She calls it her a Web. And just now you used the same word, but I think you were

referring to Fate’s Tapestry.”

Dresdin’s grin spread from ear to ear. “Ever wonder why they keep magic such a secret? Why

would a demon who hunts fate go after the Elemental of Magic? Heh, that’s because, little sprite,

the Threads of Fate and the Threads of Magic are the same thing. Drakkar was the first

Elemental born after the Fates, the Spinners of the Tapestry. He was a product of the Threads

and the desire to create a system to protect itself. During the creation of the world there had to be

a balance kept otherwise it fell apart. The Weaver was born after the Spinners to keep the

tapestry together.”

Maxine felt like she had been socker punched in her gut. She leaped to her feet, shaking her head

wildly. “No, that doesn’t make sense. That doesn’t make sense at all. The Threads of Fate are not

just some personification of destiny. They are lives. When a mortal is born a Thread of Fate is

created. Clotho spins it, Lachesis measures it, and Atropos cuts it.”

“And you weave it.” He spread his arms wide into the air. “You hear that, Weaver? That hum?

You feel that power that flows in those Threads? That is the power of life.”

“B-but… But I use them! Magic uses them. In spells. Fire spells, ice spells –“

“The power of life channeled into a direction to bring about a certain definable outcome. Ever

notice how the Threads fix themselves when you’ve used them? Don’t worry, there is no harm

done to the life, but it has been altered. That’s why magic is such a secret. What would mortals

do if they knew? If they knew every time their five year old waved a wand and created a Light

Ball that they were influencing fate? The alteration is as significant as a flower petal falling on a

scale. The weight is so marginal it’s barely there. But it is there.

“The Elementals forbid Sorcerers from battling each other,” he continued.

“Because it’s too much magic. It’s a strain on the world. Remus said it could create a paradox.”

“Remus was right. It’s too much magic. Too much of a strain. The Fates can’t keep up. They

have to re-spin every Thread that is used. It’s too much for their system. When a Thread cannot

be respun –“

Her mouth felt dry. Dresdin’s smile was malicious as he waited for her to finish his sentence. “A

life is lost.”

“When the door to Tartarus was opened, the balance tipped. Demons that entered on this side

suddenly were given Threads of Fate. We could have an effect and an impact on the world.

Worse, yet, we eat Fate. Demons were created out of necessity. Where there is holiness and

creation, there must be evil and destruction. The impact we had was twofold. There was too

much evil and we ate too much Fate. Not only did mortals lose lives, but the system began to

collapse. Magic became frail. Heh, the world was almost destroyed.”

She shuddered, hugging herself. “No wonder they ripped off my wings.”

“They didn’t rip your wings off to just punish you. The Fates allowed your wings to be ripped

off because that was the best possible course of action. When you Fell you were given a Thread.

That Thread, powerful and strong, provided a major tilt in the balance. Then you went after the

demons. Slaying them at first, regaining balance to the system. Once the balance was stabilized

your priorities shifted. Instead of slaying you began placing them back into Tartarus. Like a good

Elemental you did your work… regardless of what it meant to your self.”

The hall that she was led to defied all her expectations. It was unlike any throne room that she

had ever been in so far. Yes, there was the dais with the two thrones at the end of the room, but

the similarities ended there. The room was massive pillars scattered here and there to keep the

ceiling up. Like the pit in in the girls’ chambers, the main hall had three much larger versions, all

much deeper. Two at the side and one in the middle. Vampires lay around the fire pits in the

middle and also on the large steps. Some were sitting, some were laying. Couples clung to each

other and still others had mortals in their grasp, the vampires licking their lips while the mortals

had glazed looks in their eyes.

From the ceiling hung the same bright color ribbons that she had seen in the halls. She had never

realized how sturdy the ribbons must have been. Vampires clung to these, glaring downwards at

her, some hanging upside down. Others used ribbons that dangled from balconies to climb up

and to stare at the procession below.

And still there was plenty of room for hundreds more demons to stand, milling about above the

pits, some using the pillars as a place to lean. She noticed that there had been niches carved into

the pillars and that food and drinks were ensconced within. Groups of vampires were even

huddled together, some with card games, others with dice, and still more with some odd looking

board games.

More than a throne room, the place had a feeling of a party room. This was a place for social

gathering. There were no rules and everyone looked like they were having a good time. There

were no rules or ceremonies. The sight of it all made her smile. No wonder Drakkar never

wanted to leave here.

Chapter 28 “…Then add the frog legs and the gnome fingernail,” Amar explained, adding it into the

powdery paste already at the bottom of the mortar bowl. He then took up his pestle and began to

crush it in the mix. As he did she could feel him channeling magic into it. The compounds

themselves seemed to be generating their own sort of magic. It was impressive to watch the

magic that was generated through channeling. It was like an unseen hand was guiding the

Threads. She assumed this was the portion that was the guidance of the Elementals he was

calling out to.

“And done,” he said after a lot of grinding. “I’ll wrap this into packets later and give them a few

days to dry into a power and then I’ll have the perfect sleeping aid.”

Kriss studied, one of his antennae lower than the other. He looked up at Amar. “You really are

an impressive channeler. I’ve seen a lot of humans create this spell, but rarely this powerful.”

Amar shrugged, a slight tinge of pink in his cheeks. He tried to hide his embarrassment by

reaching into his pouch at his belt and began pulling out small pieces of papers that he folded

into the packets he needed. “Nothing impressive,” he mumbled. “Not like I’m a Sorcerer or

anything grand like that.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, boy,” Dresdin’s chuckle came from a short distance away.

“Channelers were part of Drakkar’s plan like everyone else. Magic beings specialize in one thing

and learn to do it really well. Channelers can do many things. Maybe they’ll never be as

incredible as the magic beings, but they make up for it in their wider range of skills.” He grunted

and got to his feet. “You kiddies done resting?”

She wasn’t sure how she felt about Dresdin accompanying them out in the open like this. Him

and his whole group were clothed again in their black robes with their black blindfolds. He had a

spell cast around the whole group that encouraged people to see a group of monks. Still, it felt

awkward walking around in the middle of a pack of demons out in broad daylight.

The day before Dresdin had given her the Demon Eye and had lead her through a series of long

and intricate tunnels. Together they passed under the River Styx and when they came out again

they were somewhere in Middle-East Arcadia. It was going to be a very long journey back. The

plan was to reach a large city and pay for a coach ride to Arcadia.

That was another thing. She was incredibly apprehensive about the fact that they only had one

orb, but after the loss of the orb they had retrieved from Dragon Canyon she wasn’t willing to

take the risk that Alain could show up and take it from them again.

But then again, she wasn’t that anxious to reach Arcadia city.

“Yeah, we’re good,” she announced to the vampires.

As a whole the group stood up again and began walking away, Kriss joining them yawning and

stretching. She rose to her feet, helping Amar with his stuff as he quickly stowed it away.

“Maybe you are,” she said suddenly.

“Am what?” he asked absently.

“A Sorcerer. Maybe you just haven’t Awakened yet. I can’t tell a Sorcerer when they are un-

Awakened.”

But he shook his head. “Nah, the family had me tested when I was young. I’m the son of Medea

Shadow, after all. Alain’s nephew. Everyone was hoping for another Sorcerer in the family.

Everyone on my mom’s side has always been really gifted.”

She had to stop herself from gawking up at him she was so shocked. Amar? Talking about his

family? For a moment she petered, debating whether or not to try to coerce more information

from him. She decided to go for it. “So your mom was already a Shadow when she married your

dad?”

There was a long silence and for a while she thought that maybe he wasn’t going to answer after

all. “They were cousins,” he finally said. “A few generations removed and all that, I’m not really

sure about the whole family tree thing.”

“W-well… I know about your dad, but do you know anything about your mom?” She hated

herself as soon as the question was out of her mouth. Maybe this was too hard of a question too

fast for him.

“Mom left me as soon as I was born,” he said emotionlessly.

She noticed that he had reached out for her hand and she let him take it, enjoying the feel of it. It

made her feel like a giddy teenager inside. She drew in a deep breath and decided to try for a

little more. “I’m sure she loved you, Amar. She wouldn’t have had you if –“

Amar’s hand tightened so hard that she almost gasped in pain. Suddenly Amar pulled her around

to him and she braced herself for Amar’s full-rage-mode. Instead she was met with troubled eyes

and a face filled with a sad emotion she barely recognized on his face. “Maxine, stop it. I know

you’re trying to help, but my family… it wasn’t like that. Alain, and my mom, you see… well…

Alain hated my mom. Alain Awakened during a fight with my mom. Mom, I hear, was an

incredible channeler, and she was a born leader. The pride of the Shadow family. I think Alain

grew up feeling so out of control of her life. She could never better my mom. I hear mom even

forced Alain into an arranged marriage. But when Alain Awoke everything changed.”

He turned away and started to walk again, his eyes dropping to the ground. “The story of my

mom and dad was a very dark thing and no one told me much about it. I sorta pieced it together

with the bits and scraps I could manage to get from people as I grew up. Dad was always an

asshole but he fell in love with my mom but she didn’t even look at him. Dad and Alain

apparently came to some arrangement. I think money exchanged hands but I’m sure Alain got

more out of than just money. But Alain… well… she used her magic on my mom. A few months

later mom was pregnant with me and forced by the family to marry my dad. I was born, mom

left. A few years later she was involved with the Goblin Rebellion and Ghental had her burned.

The end.” He shrugged and flicked his hand through the air. “And there you have it, Maxine.

Everything you might want to know about the piece of crap that is me.”

“Don’t talk about yourself like that,” she berated him immediately. “Amar, I know you’ve had a

rough life and that your family is so awful but you are not them.”

“Heh,” he scoffed and shook his head. “Maxine, I’ve killed more people than I care to recall.

When I was thirteen Alain handed me a knife and told me to kill a person she had just captured.

I… I didn’t even refuse. I didn’t even try to protest. I was so numb by that point. Everyone

thought I was a murderer, that I had killed my father. A part of me had even begun to believe it. I

killed my dad so I walked in there and killed that person. I was a murderer anyway, so why not. I

don’t even know who he was or why Alain wanted him dead. Wasn’t the last time, either. I

became Alain’s coldhearted little assassin.”

She jerked to a stop and yanked on his arm. “Amar, stop it!” she screamed. “You are not them.

You do care. Alain forced you.”

“The only thing I’ve ever cared about, Maxine, was my own survival. And I’m not going to hide

behind Alain. I’m not going to dishonor the people that I killed like that. I take responsibility for

what I’ve done. Just like when I pressed a knife up against Kriss’s neck and tried to kidnap you. I

will never forgive myself.”

Frustration flooded through her. “Amar, please, don’t – don’t do this to yourself.”

Amar reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair off of her cheek. “I know I’m not my family.

And dear stars I vow to never again be that person that my aunt turned me into. I plan on

spending the rest of my life trying to make up for what I’ve done. I want to become the person

that you see me as.”

She felt herself grow redder as heat rose to her cheeks. Amar drew away and ran an awkward

hand through his hair. “Great,” he said with a self-mocking sort of laugh. “I’ve become as

pathetic as you, spouting off crap like that.”

She couldn’t resist a small grin. “I think I prefer you spouting crap than the last time we talked

about you when you suddenly choked me.”

Amar jerked stiff, his eyes going back to their normal emotionless state. “I’m sorry,” he says

finally. “When I did that… I was trying to convince you – and myself – that I was no good for

you.”

She raised up a little onto the tips of her toes and pecked his cheek. “Amar, I forgive you. I know

what you were trying to do and –“

“Hey, you two!”

Kriss’s voice was so sudden that it jarred her silent. She looked up to find that the vampires were

well ahead of them and had stopped to stare back at them, Kriss standing in between calling out

to them.

She laughed nervously and looked up at Amar. “I guess we better catch up.”

“Yeah,” Amar agreed with same sort of awkward note in his voice.

She turned and started after them, but was slowed just slightly by the feel of a hand on hers. She

looked down to find Amar’s hand tightening over hers, but when she looked up he had his gaze

averted, only a pink tint to his cheeks. Unable to resist a smile she wrapped her hand around his

and together the two of them started off after the vampires.