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The Shadow Of Rhiannon

ISBN: 978-0-557-01124-7
Publisher: Lulu.com
Rights Owner: Sara Pope
Copyright: © 2004 Sara Pope

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Forward

This is a new vision of vampires and humanity. In these pages

you will see violence, sex, torture and war. This is what would

happen if the American public is allowed to see what could

be among us. Lets look at the facts. Every continent in the

world has their myths and fables about vampires, dating

back to pre-civilization, even before the different societies

knew about each other.

This novella is written from a recurring nightmare that

continued from one night to the next for two months. Each

dream was a continuation of the last, very frightening to me,

but entertaining. I decided to write the whole thing down

while it was still fresh in my mind. I started it three years ago

and, thanks to my significant other, Jerry and outside

encouragement from many others, I finished the novella you

are about to experience and finally got it published after

being turned down many, many times. I thank everyone that

has encouraged me, given me positive, (and negative)

feedback.

Sara Pope

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Index

2. Book One - Rhiannon

69. Book Two – Persecution and War

136. Book Three – Out of Annihilation

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Book One - Rhiannon

The Shadow of Rhiannon

Chapter One

The L.A. Streets were crowded with people, mostly the refuse

of society. Prostitutes scanned traffic for customers, would be

Prophets shouted at the crowds about the “Rapture” and the

consequences of their sin, and a wide variety of “sinners”

stood around and walked the sidewalks. A tall, dark woman

made her way through the droves of humanity. She seemed

to be searching for something. Her crystal-blue eyes met

those of anyone who glanced her way. The intensity of her

gaze made some cringe, while intriguing others. Her waist-

length black hair that reflected the neon blues, greens, and

reds like a dark mirror framed her slender form. She wore a

black ankle-length bodysuit and a long velvet coat. Eyes,

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male and female alike, fell upon her and followed her

movement.

Finally, she spotted her quarry and approached him.

She remained silent, but her eyes communicated desire. He

turned to face her, caught up in her hungry gaze. She

touched his face for a few seconds, then turned and walked

down a dark alley, casting a long look back over her shoulder.

He stood for a moment in a daze, and then snapping back to

lucidity, quickly strode to catch up with her. He could barely

catch a glimpse of her, and then she was gone again. He

stopped and looked about, confused by her mixed message.

Suddenly she stood before him, her eyes communicating the

same desire. Before he knew what he was doing he stepped

forward and pressed his body against hers, his hands

roaming over her firm body. She was warm and receptive to

his touch and moaned softly into his ear. He became excited

and his caresses became rougher. Rhiannon reached outward

with her right arm and a serrated hooked blade shot out of its

sheath and into her hand. She quickly sank the blade into his

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lower abdomen and ripped it upward, slicing him from groin

to sternum.

Before he could scream, she sliced through his throat

with one deft movement and he gurgled weakly on his own

blood, falling to the concrete pavement of the alley and

rolling onto his back. Rhiannon straddled the dying man and

dipped her lips into his slashed throat, yanking his head back

with her left hand. She loved the flavour of blood and drank it

deeply as it poured from the wound.

As darkness gave way to light the city awakened. An

older woman opened her window and stepped out onto the

fire escape to hang some pantyhose out to dry. In the alley

below she spotted the form of a very dead man lying in a

pool of sticky blood. Her screams alerted the other

neighbours in her building and they, one by one, opened

their windows to see what was going on. Soon the area was

swarming with officers.

The serial killer had struck again.

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Rhiannon relaxed in a tub of clean water, having

already showered off the caked blood from her body. She

listened to the early morning news from the television in the

other room, a wry smile curving her lips. She loved hearing

about her work. Her washing machine was rinsing the blood

from her favourite outfit. She would have to run it a second

time of course; it always took two washes to get it all out.

She drained the water from the bathtub and dressed

herself, watching the news carefully. The anchorman told the

public that there was still no conclusive evidence to identify

the murderer that had taken twelve lives over the past

month. No fingerprints were evident and the only thing that

had been found was a long strand of black hair. He advised

the public to stay indoors at night and be careful while the

killer was still at large.

“Like that’s ever going to happen in this town.”

Rhiannon murmured to herself with a giggle. She opened the

refrigerator door and selected an orange from the vegetable

crisper. She crossed into her living room and sank into her

sofa. She had taken the man’s wallet from the night before.

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She opened it and counted the money inside. He had several

credit cards, but they were of no use to her. She was

rewarded for her night’s activity with $435 in cash.

Thankfully the money had no blood upon it.

She slid the bills into her own purse and then settled

back and peeled the orange. Breakfast was always a light

one, as she could not stomach milk or most solid foods. She

still had an hour to kill before she had to start getting ready

for work, so she relaxed and ate the fruit.

The bar was just starting to fill up when Rhiannon

arrived. She slipped quietly into a back room and changed

into patent leather pants and a short shirt that showed off

her tiny waist. She pulled on a pair of high heeled boots and

laced them up to her knees. She didn’t require much

makeup, just lipstick for her ample lips and eyeliner.

She took her place behind the bar and got a short,

stocky man a draught beer. Exotic dancers made love to

poles while others gyrated inside cages set about the room.

The men slopped beer on the counter and eyed the dancers,

producing money and handing it to them for lap dances and

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removal of various items of clothing. Rhiannon felt her usual

surge of revulsion at the sights around her, but suppressed

the feeling, saving her anger for tonight. She was thankful

that she ran the bar and was not one of the women being

ogled by the man/pigs. She did not know why she had taken

this job, but it was all

she knew. She remembered her father, who had been a

man/pig himself.

Her mother had died when she was very young. Her

father used to go to bars like this one, bringing her with him.

While the dancers had distracted him, other men in the bar

had turned their attention to her periodically, forcing her into

the rest room and fondling her until she could get away from

them. Her father did not seem to care, or even notice.

She refilled a couple of mugs and accepted the money

from the customers, sliding it into the cash drawer. She was

an object of scrutiny also; she could feel eyes roving over her

body and face. She forced a smile and went on serving

drinks when called upon. A topless waitress came to her

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periodically and she filled the trays with different kinds of

drinks, mixing them with expertise.

Suddenly she sensed something else in the room and

scanned the crowd. A tall man stood against the wall,

wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses despite the

darkness of the bar. Long, blonde hair spilled over his

shoulders. He seemed to be studying her from a distance,

not interested in drinking or the dancers. He noticed her

attention and he slowly faded from sight, becoming dimmer,

almost transparent, then he was gone. Rhiannon blinked,

unable to comprehend what she had just seen.

“Are you going to get me a beer or what?”

She looked up and forced her smile, “Bottle or Draught.”

The businessman that had spoken to her smiled back and

told her to get him a bottle. She turned to the refrigeration

unit behind her and took a bottle from the shelf. Uncapping

it, she got out a coaster and set the beer down on it.

“That will be three dollars.”

He slid the money across the counter to her and dropped a

few more bills into her tip jar.

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“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just had a long night”

The day wore on and she did her job well, her tip jar was

full by the time she left the bar, sliding the money into her

purse. The sun sank low on the horizon and she decided to

stay on the streets. She was looking for an untainted victim

this time, a clean-cut businessman of some kind. She walked

several blocks to the tall buildings and skyscrapers. She

sensed that she was being followed, but when she looked

back, all she could see was a stray cat.

A large amount of men and women crowded the

entrance to the subway, some talking to each other, some on

cellular phones, and others walked alone through the crowd,

carrying briefcases and laptops. She turned her footsteps to

one of the tall buildings and entered a parking garage,

carefully avoiding showing her face to the security cameras.

Night had fallen, and Rhiannon stayed inside the shadows.

One by one, the cars left.

Finally, a man strode from the elevator and out into the

parking garage. He fumbled around in his pockets for his car

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keys, not noticing Rhiannon emerging from the shadows. She

walked slowly behind him, and then changed her course to

an arc to intercept him. He looked up and spotted her, she

smiled shyly and he smiled back to her. He kept up his pace

to his car and began to unlock the door when she

approached him.

“I’m lost,” She looked into his eyes “Do you know the

directions to Park Haven Drive?”

“I can take you there,” He smiled kindly “It’s not far from

here. Besides, a pretty lady like you shouldn’t be walking

around alone in parking garages. You are lucky I’m a decent

guy.” He stepped around the car and unlocked the passenger

side door. He opened it and Rhiannon got in. He slid into the

driver’s seat and backed the car from its designated parking

space. Rhiannon could see that he was some kind of

executive from the words painted on the concrete block

heading the parking space. They drove back the way

Rhiannon had come. She looked at his hands on the steering

wheel and found his finger blessedly free of a wedding band.

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“Would you like to stop somewhere?” She asked. “I could buy

you a drink.”

He smiled, but kept his eyes on the road. “I think a park is

close to here. Why don’t we just get some wine and go on a

little stroll?”

This man was no different from the suits that came into her

club, Rhiannon decided. He was looking for a cheap good

time. Well, it was going to be she that was going to have all

the fun. They pulled into a mini mall and he got out

with a word to her to stay in the car, he would be right back.

She obeyed, but as soon as he went into the building, she got

out her trusty hook blade and kissed it. “Soon …. my baby.”

She folded it up again and placed it in the back

waistband of her leather pants. He reappeared with a bottle

in his grip and got back into the car and soon they were back

on the road. The park came into view on their right and he

turned the car and made his way down a well-lit driveway.

People sat on benches on all sides, and Rhiannon carefully

kept her face from being seen by any of them. He drove into

the heart of the park where there were fewer and fewer

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people sitting around. Finally they arrived at an abandoned

little niche and he stopped. He uncorked the bottle of The

Chardonnay and offered it to her.

“You first.” She spoke gently. “I want to taste it on your lips.”

He regarded her in surprise for a moment, and then took a

sip of the wine. He leaned over

and they kissed for a moment. She took his lower lip between

her teeth and nipped him playfully, the predator playing with

her prey like a cat with a rodent. “We need more room,” He

stated huskily “Lets get out.”

He walked around and opened her door for her. Getting out,

she breathed in her beloved night air. The darkness always

made her feel more alive. She stepped to a light post and

hooked one leg around it, twirling seductively. He watched,

intrigued by her. He took a larger drink of the wine and

walked over to her, capturing her roughly in his arms. She

nipped his earlobe and he winced.

“So you like to play rough?” He whispered in her ear.

She looked into his eyes “Oh, definitely…”

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She reached back into her waistband and flipped the blade

open, bringing it up to his lower back; she sliced into his

kidney. He screamed and pulled back from her. She deftly

switched the blade around in her grip and slashed it across

his abdomen. He screamed again.

“Too bad I have to mess up that expensive Italian suit,” she

spoke quietly as she swept his legs from under him. He fell

into the grass and tried to crawl away from her. “But like I

said… I like to play rough.” She strode forward and, yanking

his head back, sliced the serrated edge across his throat. He

began to gag on his own blood as Rhiannon rolled him over.

She removed his wallet from inside his coat and placed one

shapely, heeled boot on his forehead, pushing him down into

the grass.

“Jackpot” She whispered as she counted several hundred-

dollar bills from inside the leather billfold.

A homeless man stared in disbelief from a short

distance away at the scene he had just witnessed. He had

expected to see the couple at least make it past the kissing

part, but instead he had witnessed a brutal slaughter. He had

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read the newspapers, and he knew that this was the serial

killer that had been making headlines. He decided he was

safest if he just stayed silent for now and kept low.

Sprinkler heads popped up from the grass and began to

spray, washing the blood from her fresh kill. Rhiannon rinsed

the blood from her hands and arms, then her blade. She

kicked the overturned bottle of chardonnay into the bushes

and walked away from her prey, not bothering to taste the

warm blood that soaked into the grass around him.

Vincent had been following her, but he lost her when

she had gotten into the car with the man in the suit. He had

only let her see him for a moment inside the bar where she

worked, then had to make himself invisible again. He did not

want to attract the dark beauty’s attention again until he

could be sure that they would be alone. He found it unusual

that she was alone again, on foot after having gotten into the

man’s car. He decided to follow her again, find out where she

lived and then make his move. He knew that the council

would disapprove of his actions, especially Serene, but he

was enchanted by this woman.

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He watched as she entered an apartment complex and

unlocked a mailbox, withdrawing several letters. She then

walked into one of the apartments and closed the door.

Rhiannon decided to sleep for once this night, having already

made her kill and wanted to relax a bit before going to bed.

She stripped off her tight clothing and slipped into a short

satin robe. She turned on the television and surfed around

until she found some news. A wild-eyed homeless man was

describing the details of her latest kill and Rhiannon leaned

forward. She had not known that she had been observed.

Thankfully the homeless man didn’t see her clearly

enough to tell anyone what she looked like, and he appeared

drunk besides. She breathed a sigh of relief and sank back on

her sofa. Rhiannon decided to turn in for the night. She

opened her bedroom widow a crack to let in some night air

and slipped under a sheet. The night was too warm to cover

up entirely. Just as she was falling asleep, a blue mist flowed

through the opening in the window. She felt a cool presence

so she rolled over and sleepily peered into the darkness.

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The luminescent mist took the form of a man and she

realized it was the same man from the bar. He was tall with

long blonde hair and glowing blue eyes. Rhiannon began to

wonder if she was awake or dreaming. He held her in thrall

for a moment, his gleaming eyes filling her with desire. She

realized that she was not dreaming. She also knew that this

man was not any ordinary man. He smiled, sensing her

thoughts, showing long, curved canines. She suddenly knew

what he was, and even more, wanted to become what he

was.

The sun rose and Rhiannon awakened to the sound

of a knocking on her door. The tall man was gone. She tried

to rise from her bed, but a terrible weakness encompassed

her and she fell back, not knowing what could be wrong. The

time she had spent with the blonde man was a blur in her

memory. The knocking became louder and she tried to rise

again. She got her feet to the floor and fell onto her stomach,

the weakness taking her again.

The door was kicked in by one of the stronger policemen

and officers swarmed into her home. The lawmen discovered

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her lying upon the floor in her bedroom, wearing nothing

more than an untied short satin robe. Dried blood surrounded

her mouth. She was hefted to her feet and her robe was tied

for her. The officers dragged her to the street in handcuffs

and carefully loaded her into the back seat of a squad car.

Rhiannon slipped back to consciousness for a moment, the

sunlight that came through the squad car window sent pain

through her eyes like a thousand needles peircing her brain.

She curled up into a fetal position and buried her face in the

seat, ignoring the pain of the handcuffs that cut into her

flesh. Finally, she passed out, bathed in the now-unwelcome

rays of the sun.

Her apartment was searched and several of her victim’s

billfolds were taken and bagged as evidence. The bed was

soaked with blood, so they removed the sheets and bagged

them also. Rhiannon was almost comatose when they tossed

her into a small cell in the Santa Ana county jail. Coroners’

reports were gone through and the evidence was studied.

Curiously enough, much of the blood staining the sheets

were Rhiannon’s own and some from an unidentified person.

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The blood was carefully washed from around her mouth as

she lay unconscious on the meager cot that was the only

furniture in her cell save for a toilet and sink. This blood was

identified as the same as some that was on the sheets, but it

did not match any of the blood types of the victims that were

in the city morgue.

Rhiannon awakened from a very deep sleep to find

herself in the jail cell. A single guard sat outside the cell,

eying her from time to time as he read a newspaper. She was

hungry, desperately so, but she knew that her hunger could

not be suppressed by any food.

She had to have blood. She could smell the guard and

wanted to take him. He eyed her again, noticing that she was

awake. The clothing that she had been changed into did little

to hide her voluptuous but athletic body. She felt the need for

sustenance grow stronger and she unknowingly called to

him. He stared at her for a few seconds, and then, as if he

had no will of his own, he stood and unlocked the cell door,

stepping inside.

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Rhiannon took the guard easily, ripping out the side of

his neck and drinking until his heart stopped beating, but it

was not enough. She needed more. She laid the inert body of

the guard on the shabby cot she had recently occupied and

slipped out the open gate of the cell. He hadn’t even had the

chance to scream before she had ripped his throat out with

her new teeth. Insane hunger filled her, but she kept her

composure for the time being. The scent of the female in the

office at the end of the hall assaulted her nostrils like the

sweetest scent of life-giving nourishment she had ever

smelled. She crept down the long hallway, careful not to alert

her prey. As she neared the doorway, she could hear the

dispatcher talking to an officer on the radio and she

impatiently waited for her to finish.

The scent was overpowering now and the emptiness grew

inside, becoming almost unbearable. The dispatcher moved

from the radio and crossed the office back to her desk,

preparing paperwork for the prisoner to be moved to the

maximum-security prison the next day. She had been

studying the photographs and the arresting officer’s

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accounts of the capture of one of the most frightening female

killers she had ever seen. Being in the same building with the

woman made her skin crawl, and she looked forward to going

home at the shift change. A small growl escaped Rhiannon’s

control and the woman briefly looked her way. She rose and

walked to the door, grabbing a flashlight. Rhiannon stood flat

against the wall as the dispatcher shined the beam through

the small window down the hall. Not seeing the guard in his

usual position outside the cellblock, the woman pushed a

button and slowly swung the door open. Rhiannon attacked

before the woman saw her, sinking her teeth into the

woman’s throat, ripping out the larynx and left jugular vein.

Unable to scream, the prey fought her, growing weaker as

Rhiannon drank. A man’s voice over the radio distracted her

and she quickly snapped the dying woman’s neck. Tossing

the body aside, she left the building and turned down the

street, feeling alive in the nighttime air. She left the busy

streets, hunting for more prey, the hunger still unsatisfied.

The sound and scent of life came from all around her now,

and Rhiannon was not fully sated.

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People walked in groups and stood against the buildings.

Rhiannon felt drunk on the perfume of living blood, but she

had to find a quieter, more secluded place to isolate another

victim. A man stared at her and she realized that she was

still dressed in the issued clothing from the jail, and what was

worse, her face had been televised all over the country on

the news. She had to get a change of clothing and disguise

herself. She quickly walked down an alley, searching for a

less populated area with some homes. After a while she

finally arrived at some empty streets, a middle class

neighborhood. A dog barked from a yard to her right and she

crossed the street to avoid it. Most of the homes were dark,

but she heard faint music, and followed the sound.

The sound came from a house set back from the street

by a wide expanse of grass. Cars were parked everywhere,

lining the streets and parked askew in the lawn. Two teenage

boys sat in wrought iron benches on the large porch, their

attention turned to the picture window in the front of the

house. As she approached, Rhiannon could hear them talking

in hushed voices about the party going on inside. The scent

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came to her again, and she realized that she enjoyed the

fragrance of the males more than the females. She shed the

shirt she was issued and approached them, her naked

breasts gleaming in the moonlight.

They turned their attention upon her now and she could

smell their instant arousal. She mentally called to them and

they rose from the benches like sleepwalkers. The young

males soon stood before her, and she drew them into the

trees to the left of the house. She had never felt so much

power. Drunk on the scent of the males, she traced the vein

in one’s neck with a fingertip and he removed his shirt for

her. She embraced him, and as the other watched, she sank

her teeth into his jugular. He winced momentarily, and then

sank to his knees. She followed him down, still drinking. As

she drank, she could hear his heart beating, this insistent

drumming excited her and she released him, removing the

rest of her clothing. The hands of the other boy caressed her

body as she removed his jeans.

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She scented along his thigh and bit where she could smell

the blood clearly. It gushed into her mouth and she drank

deeply, filling the emptiness inside her with the nourishment

she needed. Slowly, the heartbeat stopped.

It was time to take the other.

She removed the shirt of the second boy and raised his

arm, biting into the soft flesh of its underside. This time, she

let the holes bleed into her hand, not knowing what she was

doing or why. As her hand filled, she smeared the blood over

her breasts and was surprised by an intense, pleasurable

tingling sensation. She bit into his neck and filled her hands

with more, rubbing it over her body, writhing in pure

pleasure. He sank to the ground, unconscious from loss of

blood.

As the blood dried and the sensations faded, Rhiannon

became aware of her nakedness. She found a garden faucet

and rinsed the caked blood from her body. This done, she put

on one boy’s jeans and shoes and the other’s shirt.

A girl stepped out onto the porch, looking for her date.

Calling his name timidly, aware of the fact that she had been

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ignoring him for most of the evening, she walked down the

steps and stood on the lawn, peering into the darkness. A

moan attracted her attention and she crossed the lawn to

the trees alongside the house. Her screams alerted the

other teens inside the house and soon the area was being

searched by officers. Rhiannon, however, was nowhere to be

found.

News of the new vampire reached the council. It was

known that she would have to be brought in and given the

usual guidelines. Serene had a feeling that this one would be

trouble. She also felt that one of her council was to blame for

the indiscretion, but she could not single him out yet. She

may have to eliminate the girl, but she had to learn more

about her. Keokuk and Drake were two of her finest

assassins, and they worked well together. In her private

chambers, Serene waved her hand in the air and a window

appeared in mid-air. She watched for a moment as the

landscape inside it sped by and suddenly zoomed in on her

assassin’s quarry. The girl was darkly beautiful, but she

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could see insanity in her eyes. Serene searched through the

girl’s mind and read of the many killings she had made even

before she was reborn.

Serene called the council together and they gathered in

the great hall of the assassins. She searched the minds of

each one of them as they entered the chamber and was

blocked out by only one of them, Vincent. He was hiding

something. Serene decided to keep watch over him. She

addressed them with her usual powerful voice.

“We have a new rebirth.”

This was nothing new to the other council members as new

rebirths did occur commonly.

“This one must be brought before me and she must be

taught the ways of the veiling. If she is not brought to

understanding, she will cause us great trouble. ”Serene was

silent for a moment, waiting for reaction. No one spoke.

“I see by your thoughts that I am understood.” She motioned

to Clive and he rose from his seat.

“Bring me Keokuk and Drake.”

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The ominous-looking Master of assassins left the chamber,

but soon reappeared with an unlikely looking pair of

vampires. Keokuk was a dark, broad-shouldered one with

nearly black eyes and even blacker hair to his waist. Drake

was a tall, thin studious looking vampire with an icy stare.

“Bring the one named Rhiannon to me. She is not to be

harmed.”

The same window appeared in mid-air and they gazed upon

a youthful girl dressed in a black shirt and blood stained blue

jeans.

Keokuk and Drake studied her intently for a time, then the

window disappeared.

“She is located just south of the outskirts of Santa Ana. Bring

her to me.”

The two assassins quietly stepped from the chamber and the

Council was convened. Vincent was unhappy with Serene’s

decision to send the assassins Keokuk and Drake. He knew

that they would be rough and without mercy. Rhiannon’s

memory still lagged in his mind. Part of him wished he had

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killed her, while another voice told him he could never have

done so. He decided to bide his time until she was caught

and brought in before the council. Then and only then would

he make his move. He was trying to block out Serene’s high-

powered mind scope that she used frequently to control the

council, but it was getting harder and harder to do so. He

knew she would break through soon enough and he would be

punished for taking Rhiannon. He did not know how to

explain that he did not know that she was a notorious serial

killer until it was too late. She was a danger before, but now

she could very well bring on the end to the veiling.

The press had already covered her escape and the

killings she had made so far. The more questionable

magazines had even begun to speculate that she was some

kind of cultist or vampire. If people began to believe the

trash-mags there could be considerable trouble. Night was

falling and Vincent hadn’t slept all day. He decided to go out

to feed and clear his head.

Keokuk and Drake had no trouble finding her. They

simply used the window spell to get her exact location. The

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red Ford GTO was already outfitted with shackles to detain

her in the back seat.

Rhiannon silently slipped through the shadows, aware of

the blood stained jeans she was wearing. She was hungry

again. She had left Santa Ana with haste after her initial

bloodlust. It seemed that the police were everywhere. She

had a hard time finding places to sleep when the terrible

weakness took her by day.

The roar of an engine caught her attention and she hid

behind some trees that lined a canal. Two dangerous looking

men got out of a red GTO and silently scanned the area as if

they were looking for someone. “These aren’t good prey.”

She thought.

There was something different about these two, something

she had only seen before with the tall blonde vampire that

had taken her. She suddenly realized that these were

vampires.

Drake scented the air and stepped carefully toward the

trees, his hand automatically reaching for the stun gun at his

belt. Keokuk followed him. The girl, sighting them coming

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closer broke and ran from the cover of the trees. Drake was

on her in a flash and pressed the electrodes of his weapon to

her back. She fought him valiantly, twisting in his grip and

striking him across the jaw. Keokuk grasped her arms and

forced them behind her while Drake used the stun gun again,

this time directly into her temple. She relaxed in his grip and

was carried to the car. They shackled her arms and legs in

the back seat.

Keokuk and Drake dragged the seemingly comatose girl

into the chamber of the high council in chains. To anyone

that didn’t know of her capabilities, the security measures

would have seemed ridiculous, but after all that had

transpired over the last few weeks, Rhiannon was not to be

underestimated. Serene strode to a short distance away and

studied the ragged looking girl that lay upon the cold stones

of the temple.

“Do you know the consequences of your actions?”

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Rhiannon lifter her head and regarded the ancient

woman blankly, then a nefarious smile covered her

expression and she laughed. “Do you really think I care?”

“Minx! Come here!” Serene snapped temporarily losing her

accustomed composure. The black robed sorceress hurried

to stand beside her elder.

“Burn this impudent trash.” Serene ordered and returned to

her seat to watch.

Minx extended a single finger, lighting shot from the tip and

encompassed Rhiannon with blue plasma flame. Rhiannon

screamed in agony, but remained unharmed. This continued

for several seconds.

Minx rested her power for a moment and Serene

repeated the question. This time Rhiannon silently regarded

her through narrowed eyes.

“We have toiled for centuries to make the humans believe

that we do not exist. We are now a fairy tale, a campfire

story. We are fiction. This is the way we have been able to

survive and grow in number through the past century. We

were once hunted like animals, driven from comfort and

32
secrecy by frightened prey. We established rules to insure

that the prey does not know we exist. You have broken every

one of those rules. You have been brought before us to plead

for your life. You now have the chance to do so.”

Rhiannon dragged herself to her feet and weakly lifted

her head, coldly regarding the regal Council. The smile

returned. “I have never cared for rules, and I do what I like.

My life does not matter to me. Kill me if you want.”

Serene nodded “And so we shall.” She motioned to the

hooded figure that sat at the strategy table before her.

Vincent rose from the strategy table and motioned to Keokuk

and Drake, who dragged Rhiannon from the chamber.

Vincent was one of the most ancient Vampires in the

world, his loyalty to the great veiling had been unwavering

until just recently. Now he had his secrets, something that

was expressly forbidden to Council members. He had been

attracted to the dark beauty of Rhiannon. He had wanted

her. A few weeks earlier, he had followed her in feline form,

waited for his chance, and then took her. One law of the

33
Council was that vampires could have no sexual contact with

each other, but something about Rhiannon enchanted him

beyond any female he had ever encountered. She had

fought him at first, but warmed to his advances when she

saw what he was. She had the dark desire to become like

him, and they had spent an exhilarating night together. He

fed from her neck as he loved her, and then gave her his own

blood. They experienced each other as she weakened, then

grew strong again as her new abilities took possession of her.

He did not know of her serial killings until she had been

arrested. This mysterious dark angel was a predator like

himself and he hadn’t been able to read and know her. This

increased the attraction tenfold. It took every last bit of

willpower he had to endure watching the trial and torture of

Rhiannon by the Council. He made up his mind to set her free

and leave the Council.

Vincent followed Keokuk and Drake as they dragged

Rhiannon into a small room. He silently chose to take out

Drake first, then Keokuk. He was more ancient than they

34
were by at least a century, which made him more powerful

both magically and in strength.

Keokuk forced her to her knees in the center of the

room. He drew a silver broadsword from its sheath. Rhiannon

barely raised her head, all of her energy drained by Minx’s

assault. Vincent strode up behind Drake and struck him in

the back of the head, his hand flaring with blue electricity not

unlike Minx’s. Drake sank to the floor, gripping his head and

Vincent struck him again in the base of his skull. Drake lay

unconscious upon the floor in seconds. Keokuk turned his

attention from Rhiannon and Vincent muttered an

incantation. A wall of flame appeared, forcing Keokuk away

from the girl and into a corner. Vincent carried Rhiannon from

the room, through a doorway and into a sunlit street. The sun

weakened him, but only momentarily. Rhiannon passed out

completely. Vincent waved a hand in the air and the two of

them shimmered for a moment, and then vanished

completely from view.

35
The Shadow of Rhiannon

Chapter Two

Rhiannon awakened to find herself lying on a cold, stone

floor. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and she

spotted Vincent sitting against the far wall. He had been

36
awake all day, watching over her as she slept. She was

slightly mistrustful of him now, knowing what he had done to

her, but she liked what she had become.

Vincent noted her wakefulness and rose from the position he

had held all day. He approached her, but she pulled back

away from him. This confused him for a moment, but he

reached out and caught her arm.

“Are you hungry?”

Rhiannon considered the question, and then slowly nodded.

“Do you want to hunt?”

Rhiannon nodded again.

Vincent shoved open the door and she realized that they

were in a crypt. He stood by the door, obviously being

chivalrous. Rhiannon slipped through, still avoiding his

intense gaze. Over the past few weeks she had been more

fascinated by the beauty of the darkness than she had been

as a mortal. The cool air refreshed her, and she felt strength

returning to her body. She scented the air, but only found the

scent of decay and the light fragrance of dying flowers.

Vincent strode to stand by her side.

37
“There is a small town nearby. We will find fresh blood

there.”

Rhiannon still felt attracted to the handsome blonde vampire,

but it was her nature to be alone. She had always felt

discomfort around other people. . She decided to leave him

when the time was right.

The town was not far away, and the living scent grew

stronger. She began to quicken her pace, Vincent, sensing

her discomfort with his presence, decided to shape shift.

Rhiannon glanced back just in time to see him perform a

short series of gestures, the air shimmered around him and

he crouched low to the ground. Soon a white wolf stood in his

place. Amazed, but not fazed, Rhiannon turned back to her

objective, to feed. A pair of girls passed Rhiannon, but she

had no interest in them. She wanted males.

A scent of a male assaulted her senses. She followed

the fragrance. Soon, she arrived at a small green house.

There were others inside besides the male she wanted. She

crossed the lawn and slipped around the corner. A window

was ajar; the scent flowed from this window. She peered

38
inside and could make out the figure of a tall young male

sleeping on a bed in the center of the room. A stereo was

playing at a low volume. There was a desk shoved up to the

window. She slid the window open and climbed inside. The

desk was sturdy and made no noise as she slid across it and

climbed onto the bed. He was a deep sleeper, shifting slowly

onto his back but not awakening. Rhiannon met his lips with

her own briefly. He still did not awaken. She rolled his head to

the side, exposing his neck for her kiss. He moaned softly

and opened his eyes. He turned his head to meet her gaze

and she held him in thrall like a deer in the headlights of a

semi truck.

“You will feel no pain.” She whispered and he closed his eyes.

She rolled his head to the side again. Her teeth extended and

she sank them into his right jugular, her eyes glowing blue in

the darkness. Blood poured into her mouth and she drank

until the insistent drumming of his heart stopped.

Vincent quietly followed Rhiannon to the green house,

hoping she would not rouse the occupants. He sat and waited

for her to return patiently. He had much to teach her. After a

39
while she reappeared, a duffel bag hanging from her arm.

She had stolen clothing. It was understood. She needed a

change of clothes. She crouched before him.

“How can you do that?”

Vincent understood that she meant his shape shifting ability.

The air shimmered around him and he rose, his cloak

surrounding him once more.

“I can show you if you will just trust me.”

Vincent sat with Rhiannon in a derelict building,

performing the gestures but not using the power behind

them. He explained the gestures and sometimes was able to

catch her hands and shape them to the correct positions. She

was silent, dutifully copying his movements. They were

complex, but Rhiannon was a fast learner. After showing her

three different animals, the Wolf, the Crow, and the Cat,

Vincent explained the power that came from within to make

the changes occur.

It was time to wake up Colby for school, his mother, still

in her housecoat and slippers sleepily padded down the hall.

His stereo was still playing. She had told him to turn it off

40
before he went to sleep, but never had pushed the matter

too far. The music helped him to sleep. At least he wasn’t

sneaking out anymore. She turned the knob, but his door was

still hooked closed. She knocked loudly telling him in her

sternest voice to get up or he would be late for class. Getting

no response, she walked back to her bedroom and, taking a

clothing hanger from her closet. She quickly unwrapped it

and straightened it out to make a tool to unhook his door.

She returned and opened the door as far as she could and

slid the coat hanger up until she was able to disengage the

hook. She slowly opened the door and was suddenly aghast.

Her son lay upon his bed, slightly covered with a sheet. In

any other instance, he would have appeared to be asleep,

but blood soaked the bed next to his neck. He was facing

away from her and she could distinctly see two large holes in

his neck. She choked silently, the scream rising in her throat,

but no sound could escape her lips. She stumbled back down

the hallway and into her living room. She collapsed onto her

sofa and knocked the phone to the floor. Grasping it, she

dialed 911.

41
Rhiannon and Vincent slept. She had crawled a distance

away from him after the sun rose, but he had crept up behind

her and lying down, pulled her close to him. Their sleep was

a dangerous one, but forced. The police were canvassing the

area looking for her. They barely considered that she would

be hiding somewhere, but they did not take into account that

she was a vampire and needed to sleep by day. Such things

were not believed yet. They scoured the streets and the

wooded areas. Some deserted houses were searched but it

was highly unlikely to them that she would be there. They

believed that she would be on the move, running from the

location of her kill.

The highway patrol was called into action, and officers trying

to identify her stopped cars.

They awakened at dusk, and though Rhiannon was

slightly perturbed by Vincent’s closeness, she accepted it,

sensing his feelings for her. He was different from other men.

Besides not being human, he was very gentle and seemed to

only want to protect her. Her own powers were growing

noticeably every time she awakened and she could read his

42
thoughts now. He did not block them from her. On the

contrary, he seemed to wish to communicate with her

mentally rather than vocally. They needed to get away from

this town before they made any more kills. He reminded her

of the gestures necessary to shape shift and they became

large crows. Taking flight was a new experience for Rhiannon,

but she soon learned to take advantage of the wind.

Rhiannon and Vincent flew closely together, but Rhiannon

could not help but play with her new ability like a fresh toy,

she rolled to one side and plunged toward the ground, then

caught an updraft and rose back to Vincent's side. He was

slightly alarmed by her actions, but amused that she was

enjoying her new experience.

Vincent’s betrayal was almost a shattering blow to the

council. Serene’s anger was immense. Keokuk and Drake

were not punished for their failure as she knew that Vincent

was a century older than they were and infinitely more

powerful. Drake was injured by dark burns on the back of his

head and neck, but he would heal quickly. Serene dispatched

the two fallen assassins and a number of their lessers to

43
destroy what she believed was to become a threat to the

veiling and their very existence. Vincent and Rhiannon had to

be stopped. The assassins gathered weaponry of all sorts

from the armory. Keokuk and Drake were more than happy to

undergo such an assignment. Their anger toward their

treasonous elder and his self-appointed charge was intense.

This time it was made clear to them to kill, not capture. They

would not have it any other way now.

Rhiannon and Vincent arrived at the town of Brawley

and turned toward the Salton Sea. From the air they could

see a small group of teenagers on the shore, a bonfire was lit

and they sat around it, it was obviously a party. Rhiannon

and Vincent found a nearby derelict house and, regaining

their human form, entered it to watch the teens from an

obscure distance. A male and a female left the group to walk

along the shore. It was time to strike. Vincent and Rhiannon

cloaked themselves with the shield of invisibility that Vincent

had taught her and they left the house.

As they drew closer to the teenagers that had left the group,

Vincent sensed the presence of another vampire in the

44
vicinity. He guessed that there was an assassin from the

council nearby. Rhiannon was unaware of the presence, her

hunger blocking out the perception.

The two teens decided that they were far enough from

their friends and began to make out. The male drew the

female close and ran his hands over her body as they kissed,

locked in a tight embrace. Rhiannon realized that Vincent

was no longer by her side. He was odd to her, like a guardian,

but he seemed to have his own agenda. This did little to

distract her from the task at hand. Rhiannon was beside the

teenagers now, ready to strike.

With surprising strength she grasped the female's neck

and broke it quickly before she could scream. Rhiannon then

leapt upon the male, sinking her teeth into his throat and

ripping it outward in a spray of blood. Uncloaking herself, she

bit again, this time biting into his jugular and drinking as he

fought her. He tried to raise his arm to protect himself, but

Rhiannon was quicker. She pressed both of his arms into the

sand, drinking from the grievous wound. He finally relaxed,

his face frozen into an expression of shock, eyes staring up

45
into the night sky. His heart stopped beating and Rhiannon

turned to the girl. She checked her wrist for a pulse, and

found that her heart was still beating, but weakly.

Paralyzed from her broken neck, the girl was unable to fight.

Rhiannon then fed from the girl until she was dead, tears still

flowing from her eyes.

Vincent kept his cloaking spell active and followed the

scent of the other vampire he had detected. Atop a small hill,

a vampire that he recognized as one of the lesser assassins

had Rhiannon in the sights of a rifle. He had to act quickly.

Vincent grasped the rifle and wrenched it from the assassin’s

grasp, slamming the butt of it into his skull. This did little to

phase the lesser vampire and he rose, peering into the

darkness. Vincent uncloaked and struck him again, this time

the blow shattered his cranium and he fell, reducing to a

smoking skeleton in seconds.

The other teenagers sat around the bonfire, still

drinking schnapps and wine coolers, unaware of what had

happened to their friends. Vincent cloaked himself again and

46
approached them. He mentally called Rhiannon to his side

and she cloaked as well. These kids had to be eliminated.

They attacked the group, breaking necks and feeding before

the teens even knew what was transpiring. One broke away

at a run and Vincent followed, sweeping his legs from

beneath him and slamming his fist into the boy's rib cage,

breaking several ribs. He bit into the teens underarm and

drank his fill.

Keokuk and Drake traveled together, as always. Drake's

burns had healed quickly. The GTO rumbled through Brawley.

Police cars were everywhere, no doubt looking for the same

quarry as the two assassins. Keokuk and Drake had watched

Rhiannon and Vincent in their most recent kills through the

viewing window spell. The beautiful Minx had stayed behind

with Serene and the council, but she was keeping a mental

link with all the assassins, aiding them when she could.

Sheriff Gerald Winston took in the gruesome scene at

the shore of the Salton Sea. His son had sneaked out to

attend this party. Grief-stricken, he leaned against a dead

tree. He knew who had done this, it was the escaped serial

47
killer Rhiannon, but she could not have possibly done all of

this alone. A few of the bodies were drained of all blood,

leaving white skinned, nearly skeletal corpses. There were

signs of quite a fight and some strange blackened human

bones nearby. News Reporters were being kept at bay, and

the officers were not giving out any of the names of the

victims at this time until the parents were contacted. There

was very little blood upon the sand. The sight of the corpses

was sickening. They looked like fleshy skeletons, their throats

ripped open as if an animal had attacked them. The insects

had already found them, crawling over their whitened skin.

One boy was still alive, but very weak from loss of blood. He

was loaded into an ambulance and taken away, the siren

blaring.

Body bags were brought to the scene and one by one,

the corpses were taken away on stretchers. There was no

need for sirens on those ambulances because the occupants

were already dead. Falling to his knees near the site, Gerald

Winston wept, but inside he had already decided to capture

and even kill Rhiannon for what she had done to his son.

48
Danny was sick until dusk finally fell. He had been

having blood transfusions all day. Any food that he had tried

to eat came back up almost immediately. The hunger slowly

possessed him, but he was attempting to control it. The

nurse came in with a small cup of green jello and rolled the

bed-table over the top of him.

"Try to keep this down, honey."

Suddenly the hunger surged through him like a lightning bolt.

Danny sprang from the bed, knocking the table over, He

grabbed a handful of the nurse's hair and sank his teeth into

the side of her neck. Blood spurted in a thick stream, soaking

his pajamas and coating the side of his face, running into his

eye. Disregarding the temporary stinging blindness, he threw

her aside, still alive and weeping from the pain of her

lacerated neck. He yanked the I.V. from his arm and sped out

of his room, insanity in his eyes. His fingernails extended and

he slashed at the nearest person, who turned out to be

another patient. She fell away from him, screaming in pain.

Hospital Guards rushed forward to subdue him, but to no

avail. One guard pressed a stun gun to his side, but it had no

49
effect on the boy. The guard's arm was ripped from it's

socket, like a wing from a fly. The scent of the blood gushing

from the hole drove the boy instantly mad and he pressed his

face into the gaping hole as the guard screamed, then

fainted dead away.

Vincent and Rhiannon decided to split up. Vincent knew

that the assassins would have more trouble finding Rhiannon

than they would himself. They knew his mind and he left a

significant psychic trail, as opposed to Rhiannon, whom they

did not know and her powers not being fully developed, did

not leave a specific signal to be followed. Besides all that, he

knew that Rhiannon blamed him for her capture, both by the

police and by the council. Her life had changed dramatically

due to his desire for her, and she was not very open to his

further advances. He was not required to feed her his own

blood in their time together, but to fully realize the power of

being a true vampire, she was to ingest some of his blood. A

vampire is easy to create, a simple bite to the neck and

drainage of a certain amount of blood from the body could

turn anyone into a vampire, but not a powerful one. To

50
completely rip the throat out would insure that the body

would not reanimate.

Vincent transformed and turned his flight to Nevada.

Rhiannon, reading his intentions, changed her direction to

the East. Day flights were difficult, but as long as they

transformed themselves before dawn it was possible.

Sunlight, though it drained their resources and diminished

their strength, did not burn them as was fabled in the movies

or books created by the misguided entertainers of the world.

Two brothers, Mike and Randall Schmidt were known

disobeyers of the council’s rules. From the news of Rhiannon

that was televised nationwide, they decided to join the hunt

and bring her to the council, which they believed would be

grateful enough for their deeds to forgive them their own

transgressions. As all vampires had a telepathic link to each

other, they knew that Rhiannon had been brought to the

council before and had escaped with one of the ruling

members. He was to be brought in also. They did not have

the transformational powers of the council members yet, but

hoped that they would be trained and taught once they

51
brought in the two fugitives. As assassins of the council they

knew that they would have unlimited power, something that

they both greatly desired. As night fell, they left their

sanctuary and mounted their motorcycles, somehow knowing

where to find Vincent, but not Rhiannon.

Much to the Council’s dismay, Rhiannon continued to kill

without discretion or selection. So great was her anger that

her kills were barely recognizable when she finished them off.

The press, who had been on top of the entire spree from the

time she had broken out of the holding cell at the Santa Ana

County Jail, went wild with the coverage and documentation

of her murderous rampage. The stories went nationwide,

then, eventually worldwide as people began to realize that

Rhiannon was a vampire. Disbelief diminished and she

became an urban legend, the fire of her image constantly

fuelled by the press. Suspicion against the cult like Goth and

Pseudo Vampiric societies grew at an intense rate, and a few

killings of real vampires confirmed what had been but a myth

for over a century. The vampires died in a manner that

terrified their killers and the word spread that these

52
creatures were pure evil based on it. No one realized the

consequences of the upset of the balance that had been

carefully orchestrated by the Council until it was far too late.

The paranoia reached down into the lives of every man,

woman, and child in the United States. Fear and persecution

ran rampant in the schoolyards, streets and homes

everywhere. Still, the press wouldn’t stop their coverage of

the Rhiannon saga. The American churches, having not been

able to rise to power since the witch trials, took immediate

advantage of the situation. People who had never said a

prayer or had been baptized in their lives crowded the

hallowed halls of the holy houses. Mass baptismal took place

in every body of water. Tel-Evangelists took control of the

television stations, preaching their own ideas of how the

situation should be handled. A staggering amount of people

began to be killed by violent mobs based on their

appearance or heresy about their lifestyles. The beginning of

the end was at hand.

America watched as the networks televised execution

after execution of vampires. One method of interrogation of

53
the reborn taken prisoner was to repeatedly cut the wrists,

underarms, and throats of the prisoners, slowly draining the

blood from their bodies before the cuts sealed over. It was

found that the only way to truly kill the vampires was to

destroy the heart or brain. Experiments were performed daily

to find the weaknesses of the undead. They did feel pain,

but not in the same way that an ordinary human did, the

bearable threshold being much higher. Holy water and

crosses had no effect, but the classic silver and wooden

stakes driven into the heart or temple was fatal. The

frightened humans gathered in their houses of worship,

pleading to God for protection and guidance. Paranoia ran

high in the cities and towns, and the executions increased in

number as well.

The media was not entirely to blame for the chaos that now

reigned in the United States, but their ignorance and greed

for ratings played a key role from the start. Freedom of

speech in the form of massive media frenzy over the

Rhiannon killing spree was what brought the existence of

54
Vampires to realization for the humans whom had been long

blinded by the great veiling.

Rhiannon came across something that interested her in

Salt Lake City, Utah. She noticed a small group of young

adults that seemed to want to be like her. She decided to

stay here for a while. They wore almost white face makeup

and dental prosthetics, not caring what anyone thought of

them. She singled out the oldest of the group and decided to

follow him. His name was Shane, and he looked a great deal

like Vincent. She followed him as he walked around,

apparently looking for a job. The sunlight weakened her, but

she was now set on an objective. These teens were obsessed

with the news about her killings. She decided to play

Vincent’s game, appearing only briefly to the young man,

then vanishing from his sight. She sensed that he recognized

her. Forgetting his job hunt as the sun sank low in the

horizon, he led her to his home. He knew what she wanted

and wanted her too. She decided not to kill this one.

55
His rebirth was a powerful one. Rhiannon sat with him while

he lay sleeping through the next day, his sheets stained with

both of their blood. As darkness finally approached again he

rose from his bed and Rhiannon took him out to the street.

She maintained a mental block on him, trying to keep his

hunger under control until the time was right. They walked

for hours until they finally found quarry. Two girls walked

alone from a mini mall, bags in hand, talking animatedly.

Rhiannon and Shane followed them until they eventually sat

down at a bus stop on a deserted street. Rhiannon cloaked

herself, mentally releasing him and watching as Shane sat

down with them. He spoke to them briefly and left the bus

stop with one in tow. The other girl waved to her friend and

fell asleep on the bench. Rhiannon watched her while Shane

took the other, feeding until her heart stopped. He returned

for the second and carried her to join her friend. Rhiannon

observed with a small smile of satisfaction. He had already

mastered mind control. He returned to her and Rhiannon

removed his blood stained shirt. It was time to meet his

friends. Shane’s friends were waiting in line to

56
get into the Goth club when they spotted Shane and the tall

woman. She was familiar to them. There was something

distinctively different about Shane. He seemed stronger,

more alive. As they drew near the line they recognized the

dark woman, it was Rhiannon herself. They had been

following her media for weeks. They didn’t know whether to

be afraid of her or welcome her. They approached them,

Rhiannon hanging back, seemingly unwilling to make initial

contact with them. Shane took Todd aside and whispered

something in his ear. Todd stepped back away from him, a

dazed look in his eyes.

“Come on,” Shane told his friends “We have something to

discuss.”

Lauren and her sister Crystal walked side by side. This was

an enigma. Here was the woman that was being portrayed

on the news as a monster leading them somewhere, but they

felt no fear of her. Rather, they were curious and wanted to

get to know her better. She was powerful, they could all

sense that. The stories that she was a real vampire ran

through their minds. Before they had heard about her, they

57
were only Goths, but the possibility that vampires were real

intrigued them to the point of wanting to be there, to be the

same. Now it seemed they had that chance. Lauren and

Crystal spoke quietly together about her. The two of them

discussed their lack of fear and their unknowing of what was

going to happen next. Shane hung close by the woman’s

side, it was obvious that they had been intimate, and Crystal

felt a small surge of jealousy. Todd was her boyfriend, and

she hoped that he was not attracted to her in the same way.

They approached a run-down older house with boards across

the windows. Rhiannon, in a blur of movement, kicked open

the barred door, and, though surprised by the action, they

followed her inside. The next few days were events that

would hang in their memories forever.

Rhiannon did nothing to try to steal Todd away from

Crystal, but she did transform him as she had transformed

Shane. She seemed hesitant about feeding on the females in

their group, but she transformed them too. Crystal never felt

such hunger as she did the night of her rebirth. Going to

school was the most difficult to her. She had to wear black

58
clothing and sunglasses to protect her skin and eyes from

the sun. It was unbearably hot even though everyone else

was chilled by the early spring temperatures. Others stared

at her as though she was suddenly alien to them. She knew

what was going on with the media and the churches and she

feared being implicated along with her sister and friends.

Marilee and Jason had made sure to be together when

Rhiannon transformed them, each being protective of their

sibling. Lauren, being the strongest female in their circle was

confident that she could handle the transformation alone.

Crystal insisted on being with Todd, even though she knew

that Rhiannon was primarily attracted to Shane. All in all,

their transformations were uneventful, except for the fact

that they were nearly insane with hunger when they

awakened the next dusk. They decided to call themselves

“The Crows”.

Vincent was unsuccessful in drawing the assassins away

from Rhiannon. They obviously perceived her as more of a

threat than he was. He decided to find her again. His bond

59
with her mind told him that she had recently created

rebirths. This troubled him. Vincent knew that the new ones

would be brought in for questioning and training. Would they

betray her to the council? That was yet to be seen.

“You want to what!!!” The Sheriff angrily retorted. “If you

leave this precinct on a wild goose chase you will lose your

badge.”

Gerald Wilson had been a good deputy for years, and was up

for promotion to corporal, but none of this mattered now.

Gerald wanted Rhiannon dead. He couldn’t erase the image

of his blood-drained son lying upon the sand of the beach of

the Salton sea. Gerald took off his badge and layed it upon

the captains desk, then he did the same with his gun. He

unholstered three clips of bullets and put them down also.

Randy and Mike arrived at the temple of Lilith after two

nights of hard riding. They knew they would not be received

with open arms, their transgressions would make this

difficult. The two were nearly twins, though Randy was

younger by a year. A half moon hung overhead as the two

rang the bell by the doors. After a time one of them opened

60
slightly and an acolyte peered at them. No words were said

as he searched their minds, then let them in.

Serene herself had foreseen their arrival and did not

bother to greet them herself. Instead, Clive, the master of

arms led them to the assassins chamber.

“So you wish to atone for your crimes by retrieving

Rhiannon?”

Slightly taken aback by the question and the fact that they

were so easily read, the two agreed silently. The master of

arms began to lay out a number of weapons from the walls

and a few locked cases that stood about the room.

“Only take what you need.”

Randy strapped a pancake holster and a 9mm Ruger. Taking

several matching clips he snapped on their holders and slid

them in. He also took a shoulder harness with a large knife

and slipped back into his long, black leather duster. Mike took

a long samurai sword and strapped it to his back.. He also

took Glock Semi-Automatic. Ammunition for both guns was

given to them in a leather bag. “We already have highly

trained assassins on Rhiannon’s trail. Your quarry will be

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another vampire named Vincent. He is many centuries old,

so he will be hard to eliminate. Clive paused for a moment, a

frown creasing his ageless brow.

“He is not to be captured. We will know when you have

completed your task. Kill him and you will be forgiven for

your crimes.”

Randy and Mike left the Temple and mounted their

motorcycles, their weapons hidden under their coats.

Rhiannon left the Crows without warning, disappearing

as suddenly as she had come. They went on feeding nightly,

but tried to maintain a certain amount of discretion. There

was no lack of prey in Salt Lake City. Transients and

Prostitutes were of plenty supply, though some were

diseased, their sickness could not touch them. They

developed preferences immediately, even when they wanted

to ingest intoxicants they would find someone with a high

alcohol level in their blood. The news televised the bodies

that were found, and some that the Crows had not killed

properly were executed in churches upon their rebirth.

Hospitals in our area were placed on high alert for John and

62
Jane Does that came in because some awakened with the

bloodlust before they could be embalmed, causing chaos in

the sanitary environments of the medical facilities. The

Crows found this to be amusing, but police work involved in

the autopsies of those that remained dead was a threat to

their secrecy. The Crows left their homes and hid out in

different places, making it harder and harder for the

authorities to pin them down and bring them in for their

criminal activities. He had no trouble finding them despite

their efforts to stay hidden. He was obviously a being of great

power. His name was Vincent. He swore them to secrecy

about Rhiannon and told them that more would come and

find them. He specified that Rhiannon’s scent was what

helped him find them, and that some very dangerous

individuals would take them to something called the V-

Council, and to be prepared not to fight, but to comply with

them. He was in a hurry, trying to catch up with Rhiannon.

He seemed to have a certain animosity toward Shane. He left

after only a few hours, intent upon finding his apparent love.

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Keokuk and Drake, though they had the ability to

transform and had a more convenient means of travel, took

the GTO and followed the trail of Vincent, who they somehow

sensed was back to following Rhiannon. The world was

somehow a new place now, and they had to be more careful.

The veiling was being lifted once again. Serene’s predictions

were coming to be.

Rhiannon was on her own now, Vincent had left to try to

draw the assassins away from her, she knew this not by

anything he said, but by the thoughts he had that she had

been able to read. She sensed him coming back to her, she

did not know how she knew this, but she could see his face

more clearly with each passing day in her dreams.

Rhiannon followed the scent of a male, her favorite prey.

He was living in a fairly secluded place with few neighbors.

He was the perfect kill. She approached his house, scenting

the air, half drunk on the perfume of the blood running

through his veins. He was alone, watching the news on his

television set. She could see him through his living room

64
window. She decided that the direct approach would be good

enough.

The man heard a small knock on his door, he rose slowly

from his chair, his joints painfully creaking from the hard

days work he had put in tending his small farm. He looked

through the peep-hole in his door and saw a beautiful, dark

woman standing on his doorstep, a worried expression on her

face. He unlocked the door, but left the chain hooked.

"What do you want?" He asked, peering at her through the

narrow crack of the door.

"My car is out of gas", Rhiannon stated, knowing that this

was going to be easier than she thought. "Do you have any

extra?"

The door closed and she could hear the man sliding the chain

loose from its position. The door opened and a middle aged

man stepped out onto the wide porch with her.

"Sure, I have some gas in the barn."

Rhiannon shoved the man back through the open door and

onto the floor. He fought her, trying to regain his feet, but she

pressed his head back onto the floor and ripped out his

65
throat, the blood sprayed into her eyes and she was blinded

for a moment. She drank deeply, savoring each burst of

blood as it forcefully filled her mouth with his heartbeat. She

stripped off her shirt and let the blood spray upon her

breasts, rubbing it in with her hands. She screamed with the

pleasure and resumed drinking until his heart stopped.

Rhiannon, in her disregard for everything living and

undead was opening the American mindset to the existence

of what was always there but never completely believed.

Keokuk was silent, angry, and set on the mission. They were

further aided by news reports on the radio. Even though

news of killings in the manner of vampirism were being

investigated more thoroughly now, Drake was able to

understand that it was likely that she had recently passed

through Utah. The further they drove from the temple and

the combined intellect of the Council, the weaker were their

abilities to keep a synchronized connection with their

comrades. Daylight was coming soon and they needed a

place to rest, ignoring the fact that they had not had fresh

blood for days. Thanks to the help of an operative that

66
worked in a blood bank as a night security guard, they had

sustenance with them. Utah was not far away, but the

weakness began to take them as they pulled into a hotel.

Plenty of money had been made available to them by the

council, so they had no problem making the security deposit

and getting a room for the day.

Drake removed blankets from the bed and blocked the

front window of the room. Keokuk slept on the floor, as was

his nature, and Drake took the bed.

Around noon they were awakened by a loud pounding

on the door. Drake staggered to the door and blearily

answered it, blocking the light from his sensitive eyes with

his forearm. A group of civilians rushed into the room,

knocking him down and rolling him onto his stomach, cuffing

his wrists together. Keokuk was dragged from his resting

place on the floor and the bags they had drank from before

going to sleep were gathered and stuffed into a backpack.

They were quickly gagged and bound at the hands and feet

with cuffs and shackles. A van was pulled up to the doorway

and they were thrown into the back.

67
The church was full of frightened people. The two

dangerous looking vampires lay on the cold tile floor, not

quite awake, but lucid. They were confirmed to be vampires

by the evidence found in their hotel room. A bishop entered

the room and stared down at them, still disbelieving at what

they had captured. These were the first he had ever seen in

person. The stories in the media had not implicated these

two, but they had to be the real thing. He approached a

basin of holy water and filled a cup. Turning to the captives,

he tossed the water upon them. The larger of the two gave

him a scowl and struggled at his shackles. The crowd

stepped back as he fought his way to his knees. The bishop

ordered one of the men nearby to take the gags off. He

wanted to question these two. He did not recognize either

one, and he wanted to know where they came from. The

gags were removed.

“What is your business here?” The bishop asked.

68
Keokuk smiled sardonically, “Stupid human, you have no idea

what is going to happen to your world. We are looking for the

cause of all your troubles.”

The Bishop still did not understand. “Explain!”

“The one named Rhiannon, she is the one we were seeking

before your Holiness decided to drag us into this place.”

“You are vampires, are you not?”

“Yes, we are, but we posed no threat to you until you

interfered.”

“You pose a threat now?”

In one swift movement Keokuk snapped the links between his

cuffs and uttered an incantation. The shackles at his feet fell

away as he turned into a black cloud of smoke. It swirled

around Drake and suddenly he was freed also, the metal

turning to dust and falling away.

Keokuk materialized behind the bishop and seized him

with one muscular arm, yanking his body to the side and

breaking his spine. Screaming, the man fell to the floor, his

body twitching uncontrollably. Women screamed and several

men rushed forward in an attempt at subduing the two

69
vampires, who, with a few more uttered words, turned to

large

black bat-like creatures. Many of those who rushed in were

immediately torn apart by the transformed beings. During

the melee, however, the rest of the onlookers left the church

in a crush of bodies, falling down the wide steps leading from

the doors.

Keokuk and Drake drank their fill from those still alive

and left the Church. They hadn’t realized it, but they had

been driven into Utah. Night had fallen while they were being

questioned, which explained Keokuk and Drake’s return to

their strength. The Van sat empty with the keys still in the

ignition, so they took it and resumed their chase of Rhiannon

and Vincent.

Gerald Wilson had certain plans for Rhiannon, he was

now a firm believer that she was a vampire, and he wanted

to destroy her at all costs. He decided to pay a visit to an

arms dealer he had busted that was supposed to be clean

now, but he knew the man was still selling the same

merchandise. He drove to the run-down looking pawn shop

70
and entered the building. The broker in question shot him a

paranoid look and finished his business with a customer that

was trying to get a good price on a wedding band. Finally, the

broker approached him and leaned on the counter.

“What do you want, cop?”

“I’m not here as a cop, Gerald replied, “I want to get some

firepower.”

“You know I don’t sell stuff like that anymore.”

Gerald reached forward and grabbed the broker by the collar

and pressed a gun to the side of his head. “Show me the

merchandise I want, now!”

“Okay! Okay! I’ll get you what you want, just don’t threaten

me.”

The broker reached for a silent alarm button under the

counter and Gerald caught his arm and twisted it behind his

back.

“None of that crap, just take me to your inventory.”

The broker sighed and led Gerald to the back room, as the

ex-deputy had suspected, there were several boxes of

automatic firearms and other weapons. He tipped over

71
several boxes and selected an M-16 with several clips and

two boxes of grenades. He began shoving the boxes around

until he found two rocket launchers and took a box of

missiles that matched the device.

“Thanks for your service.” He glowered at the dealer, “Maybe

I’ll be back.

As Gerald left the shop the broker thought about pressing the

alarm button again, but decided against it. He had too much

to lose if any officers showed up. Gerald loaded his newly

acquired munitions into the back of his pickup and covered

them carefully with an old blanket. He climbed into the cab

and turned on the radio as he drove to the freeway. He

listened to a radio preacher for a few moments. The man was

talking about the need to rid America of the Satan-Spawn

that was infested in every neighborhood and city.

Tiring of that quickly, he turned the dial until he caught a

news station. He listened to the usual traffic reports and the

weather reports. Finally he heard what he was listening for.

There had been more killings that were believed to have

been made by the now-famous Rhiannon. There was some

72
speculation that she was not alone in her work. Gerald

turned it up. These killings were made just north of the

border of Utah in Idaho. An older man had been found in his

home, completely drained of blood and his throat ripped

open. This was her trademark. Gerald remembered the

condition of the bodies on the shore of the Salton Sea. Most

of the teens had been torn up in much the same way.

He tried to concentrate on how he was going to get to

Idaho, banishing the images of the bodies from his mind for

now. He had a long drive and not much time to find her.

73
The Shadow of Rhiannon

Chapter 3

Vincent had been right, as the Crows hid in an old

deserted house they heard the rumble of an engine. Shane

stepped to the window as the rest of them dressed, getting

ready to go out and find fresh blood. He hurried back the

group and dragged Todd to the windows as he was pulling on

a sock.

Two murderous looking individuals were getting out of a

van and approaching the house. Shane turned and ordered,

“Come on, get dressed, now!”

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The door was broken down in a flash and two vampires

strode into their midst.

“You are new reborns?” The tall blondish vampire asked them

while the Indian kept his silence.

“Yes, we are.” Shane stepped forward.

The Indian stepped forward and pressed a finger to his

temple. Shane froze, his entire body quivering as if he were

being electrocuted.

Suddenly none of the crows could move their arms, it was as

though they were bound to their sides by strong ropes. The

two vampires dragged them out of the house one by one and

threw them into the back of the van.

As Vincent had ordered them, the Crows did not speak

of Rhiannon, but somehow they knew that the Native

American vampire had already withdrawn information about

her when he had touched Shane, who was still shaking as

though every nerve in his body was reacting to an electrical

shock. They were unable to speak at all, in fact. To even

attempt to talk among themselves was restricted by some

75
strange power that the two vampires that had taken them

had.

Rhiannon left Idaho in her usual manner, flying east.

Somehow knowing that she was being pursued kept her from

staying in her human-like form for very long. She had fed

upon an older man in Idaho. He was alone, so she had been

able to enjoy his blood in every way she wanted to. She had

found long ago that she loved the sensations that blood gave

her when she rubbed it over her body.

Vincent followed her from a distance of about a mile

behind, knowing that now was not the time to join her again.

She was enjoying her personal freedom and he respected

that now. She had to rest sometime, and he would join her

then. He sensed that she missed him a bit. He hoped that

she would be receptive when he caught up with her. She was

even more attractive to him now that she was developing her

power. Even as a new reborn, she rivaled Serene herself in

beauty and strength.

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After driving for two days, their captors led them from

the van into an abandoned church. This was obviously near

the West Coast, Palm trees lined the empty streets. The

Crows were led inside and the invisible bonds on their bodies

were lifted. The inside of the church was lit only by candles in

sconces that lined the walls.

“Welcome, reborns,” a powerful voice echoed in their

minds as they entered a large room with a long table set in

the center. A black cloaked woman stood at the head while

others slowly rose to greet them.

“What have you brought us?” The woman spoke, addressing

their captors.

The tall German and the stocky Indian bowed to her.

“These reborns are Rhiannon’s work.”

The cloaked woman regarded the Crows for a few seconds,

searching their minds.

“They know nothing of Rhiannon’s location. Teach them the

way and release them.”

She stopped for a moment and her ageless eyes rested upon

Jason. Smiling slightly, she waved a hand, dismissing them.

77
The Crows were taught a few basic guidelines based on

the idea of something called “The Great Veiling”. They were

not to have sexual contact with mortals without killing them

when they were finished with them. Also, they were not to

have sexual contact with another vampire for reasons

unknown. Todd and Crystal cast each other a long glance,

knowing that they were not going to be able to follow that

rule. They were not to leave the bodies of the victims in such

a manner that they were recognizable as a vampiric kill, if

they did the body had to be buried or burned. They were not

to tell any mortal of their secret, even under torture. If they

created another vampire, they would have to bring them to

the council to be given the law. They were not to kill another

vampire except under the most extreme self-defense

circumstances. They were not to give away the location of

this church, which their instructor called “The Temple of

Lilith”, or the location of the Council, wherever they may be.

They were not to kill any mortal where they could be seen

doing so. They were to kill only the weak, the derelict, and

78
the homeless. They were not to create another vampire that

was under the age of 16. The crows were told that their

powers would grow stronger every night, but never to use

them as a means of getting admiration. They were not to

drink blood after the heart of the victim stopped beating, as

they could become very ill. They also were not to drink the

blood of another vampire, as that would prove fatal.

Crystal had to ask, “Who was the woman in the black cloak?”

“She is Serene, the most ancient of us that we know, and the

Empress of the Council. ”They were then passed from the

acolyte that told them of the law to a blonde female vampire

that they recognized as one of the elders that sat at the table

of the council. For the rest of the night, she showed them

how to use their newly discovered power to read minds, and

shape-shift into various forms other than their human

persona. The Crows were held in thrall by this one named

Minx. She was very beautiful and ageless as Serene herself,

but different. They learned as much as they could from her.

Then the Crows were finally released. They left the Temple of

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Lilith and found themselves back in Salt Lake City,

compliments of the sorceress.

Randy and Mike had to feed, they had been riding hard

for two nights. The daytime sun was so unpleasant that they

were forced to find a place to hide from it. There were no

buildings in the area so they had to dig themselves a place in

the sand of the Mojave Desert and did their best to cover

themselves. The sand was hot of course, but the weakness

took them almost before they were able to cover themselves.

The third night they awakened and burst from the sand. They

checked their motorcycles that they had hidden away behind

a rocky hill and found them undisturbed. Mike and Randy

walked to the highway and posed as hitchikers. It was dark

and there were few vehicles on the normally busy stretch of

asphalt. Finally a car with three hispanic men stopped and let

them in.

The driver asked them in broken English where they were

going and they told him that they were just heading east. He

accepted this and soon they were riding at a high rate of

speed, leaving the motorcycles behind. Randy decided that

80
they should feed as soon as possible. He mentally

communicated this to his brother.

Mike reached around the seat with his left arm and

grasped the driver's head and smashed it through the

windsheild. The man in the passenger seat cursed loudly in

Spanish and grabbed the steering wheel as his friend

slumped back in his seat, his forehead crushed. The car

veered out of control and smashed through the guard rail,

rolling down a steep embankment and finally turning onto its

side.

Mike and Randy took advantage of the shock to the

other two men, who were still buckled into their seats. Mike

struck the front passenger across the face, shattering teeth

in the man's already bruised and lacerated face. This

knocked the man unconscious and Mike sank his teeth into

his throat while climbing into the front of the car. The third

man fainted dead away and Randy slashed his throat with his

fingernails, the man's flesh stretched with a ripping sound.

Randy opened his mouth as wide as he could and clamped

into the man's neck as blood poured from the elongated

81
wounds. The brothers fed for as long as they could, then

dragged themselves from the car.

Mike had a broken leg, the bone protruding from his flesh. In

his feeding frenzy he had not even noticed that he was

injured. Randy set the bone back into place and the hole in

Mike's leg sealed over. Randy helped Mike up the

embankment and back onto the highway. They walked back

to their motorcycles, Mike limping slightly. Broken bones

never healed as well or quickly as flesh did, but when they

reached their bikes he was able to ride, and that was all that

mattered at the time.

Jason had noticed Serene's interest in him when they

met her, but he did not know why she had singled him out,

even momentarily. Even with the robe shadowing her face,

he could see her eyes clearly, glowing a white/blue

luminosity. Her eyes remained in his mind, distracting him

from all other thought.

The crows returned to their lair, the excitement of what

they had become and what they were a part of filled their

82
minds. Even their own parents had seemed afraid of them.

The danger of being singled out and interrogated hung in

their minds also. They knew that they were right to leave

their homes to escape such a fate. Somehow they knew that

they would die if they were ever caught. That danger was

exciting and they actually looked forward to going out.

Crystal and Todd were slightly afraid to be too close to each

other after learning that no sexual contact was a rule of the

vampire way. It was not to stay that way for long, though.

83
The Shadow of Rhiannon

Chapter 4

Rhiannon shook herself, the feathers on her body

withdrawing into her flesh and disappearing. Her clothing

automatically formed around her once more and the duffel

bag she had taken appeared beside her. The barn had the

slightly musty odor of old straw and years of abandonment.

Climbing into the loft, Rhiannon cleared a spot to sleep.

She was hungry, but the need to rest surpassed the feeling.

Vincent arrived at the barn and stood outside for a

moment. The sun was rising in the east and he momentarily

marveled at its beauty for the first time in years. As soon as

he sensed that she was asleep he entered through the

partially open doors. She was in the loft. He sat against the

wall near the entrance and felt sleepy instantly. He had

84
followed her into Colorado on the wing, staying just out of her

range of perception, or so he thought.

Rhiannon awakened at dusk. She stretched and was

suddenly aware of Vincent. She climbed down from the loft

and kneeled before him. In a rush of emotion she realized

that he meant her no harm, and never had. She reached out

and gently ran her fingers along his strong jawline. His eyes

opened and he caught her in his arms. She did not fight, but

actually returned his affection with a passionate kiss. He had

not expected this of her. He began to withdraw, searching

her mind for any possible threat, there was none.

“I missed you.” He whispered huskily

“I know.” Rhiannon replied, looking into his eyes.

They made love for the second time since they had met,

drawing each other’s strength with each touch. Their minds

and bodies were one.

A crow swooped down to a treetop and began to preen

its feathers. Soon two others joined it and they grouped

closely together. They made no sound, but a small boy

noticed them immediately. He hurried into his house and

85
entered his bedroom, pulling a pellet rifle from beneath his

bed. He hurried back outside and stared back up, hoping that

the crows were still there. They were, so he aimed the rifle at

the three of them and squeezed the trigger.

Two of the crows took flight immediately, but one fell from

the tree. It landed in the grass, dead from a pellet to its

head. The boy picked it up and shook it, making sure it was

dead. He dropped it back into the grass and walked away

momentarily to get his dog. Unhooking the chain from the

Rottweiler’s collar, he led it back to the crows resting place,

only to find a smoking human skeleton lying there. The

Rottweiler whined and sped back to its doghouse, cringing

back into a corner. The child ran back into the house,

screaming for his mother.

The incident made national news. Paranoia ran deeper

than ever before. The story of the two vampires that had

been captured and taken into Utah that had transformed into

horrifying monsters also made headlines. Now it was widely

known that the vampires had to have their hands bound

behind them and be gagged if the execution was to be done

86
after dark. During the day they were weakened enough to be

captured. Mobs of angry and frightened citizens attacked the

Gothic wanna-be’s and the Dark-Siders, taking them to

churches and murdering them. Brothers, sisters, daughters,

and sons became casualties of war. Randy and Mike reached

Utah. Not being gifted as the more ancient vampires, they

could do nothing more than follow the news stories. By now,

vampire sightings were being reported from all over the

country, and this made it harder than ever to track Rhiannon

and Vincent. They decided to try to contact the council’s

sorceress for her aid. They took their motorcycles deep into

the forested area of Utah, and made camp. They built a fire

and stared into the flames, calling to Minx with every ounce

of concentration they could muster.

The fire turned to a bright red, then blue flame shot from it

and enveloped them.

The sorceress appeared, hovering slightly above the fire.

Randy and Mike knelt before her, paying proper

consideration for her power.

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“Why did you call me?”

“We need aid in finding Rhiannon.” Mike replied respectfully.

“I know of three things,” Minx stated, “I know where she has

been, where she is now, and where she will be. Travel by day

and night to Arkansas, and wait there. Call on me when you

reach that state and I will give you further instruction.”

Minx vanished in a flash of light and the flames returned to

normal. Randy and Mike, not wanting to waste any time, put

out the fire and mounted their motorcycles again.

The kill was made, and Rhiannon and Vincent knelt in

the grass of a large park, spreading the still-living blood over

each other’s bodies, enjoying their time together. Vincent

pulled her close and their lips and tongues met. They

pressed their naked bodies together and experienced the

sensations of the blood as one, heart, mind, and spirit.

Rhiannon was finally his, and she was more exciting with

each new moment. No longer did she have any inhibitions.

The pool at the nearby recreation center was warm and

inviting. The blood washed off their bodies easily. Rhiannon

dipped her hair back into the water and washed it back from

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her face. She splashed Vincent, smiling more genuinely than

she had for a very long time. He encircled her in his arms and

they went under together, wrestling playfully. The water

around them reddened slightly, then cleared with their

movement.

A patrol car shined its spotlight through the park, then

stopped. An officer got out and leaned back into the window

for a moment, telling his rider that he would be right back.

He held his flashlight at his shoulder and walked through the

park, searching for the strange form he had seen from the

car. Sure enough, a body lay in the grass, stripped naked and

obviously bitten in several places. A sudden hiss made him

start, and the automatic sprinklers began to spray water over

the site. He took his radio from his belt and called for backup.

“We have a corpse in Hillside Park, send backup and a

forensics team.”

“What is the state of the body?” The dispatcher asked.

“Looks like a vampire kill, several bite wounds, also very

recent.”

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As the officer was returning to his car, he noticed a

commotion inside the vehicle. His steps quickened to a run,

but he was too late. His rider was being finished off by two

vampires, the female turned to look at him and he

immediately realized who he was looking at. It was Rhiannon

and a male comrade. He began to back off, slowly at first,

then he turned and ran back into the park, screaming into his

handheld radio for backup.

When the backup arrived, the officer and his rider had

already been torn apart by Vincent and Rhiannon.

The fear of being discovered forced Rhiannon’s Crows to leave High

School. They left their homes also, knowing that they could be implicated at

any time. The Goth clubs that they frequented had been shut down by the

paranoid public. They found an abandoned house on the outskirts of Salt

Lake City. The inside of the house was filled with graffiti, but it was still

carpeted and a mattress had been dragged into the master bedroom. A false

corpse lay upon the stairway to the second floor, it was nothing more than

clothing stitched together and stuffed with cotton, meant to scare anyone that

entered the house. Todd and Jason tossed it back and forth to each other and

90
the rest of them looked on with a certain degree of amusement. The levity

was refreshing, but they had to feed again very soon.

Dusk was falling, and with it came their new perception. The Crows were not

alone in this house. They decided to search the upper floor.

They found what we were looking for, two squatters were in the first room

they came to. It was hardly enough for the six of them. Shane kicked down

the door and entered in a blur of movement, surprising the squatters. Crystal

grasped the woman and yanked her head to the side, sinking her teeth into the

human’s throat. The squatters had been asleep when the Crows surprised

them, so they were not quite aware of what was happening to them. Todd

joined Crystal in feeding off the woman, while Shane and Lauren struggled

with the large man. With a few shattering blows to the head, Shane rendered

him unconscious. Marilee stood in the doorway. She was always the shy one.

Crystal motioned for her to come and join the rest. She complied and they

finished off the squatters in minutes. Still hungry, they returned to the lower

floor and discussed their options. They could go out and feed again, but there

was always the danger of being discovered. They decided that Shane, Todd,

and Jason could go out and find more prey to bring back to the new lair.

The girls waited for three hours, wondering when the boys would be

back or if they would be at all. The wait seemed to take an eternity, but they

91
were patient and the boys returned, carrying three comatose-looking people.

They took turns feeding on them. Crystal pitied the victims, it was still hard

for her to take a life since her rebirth.

Soon they were dead, and she closed their eyes. They carried them upstairs

and dumped the bodies along with the two squatters.

Gerald sat in his pickup, resting from an all night drive. A thermos of

coffee sat at his side and he quietly munched on a sandwich he had bought at

a convenience store. The newsman broadcasted the usual subjects. False

sightings of Rhiannon were pouring in from all over the country, but an

incident in Colorado caught his attention the most. An officer had been left

barely alive, but he was able to tell of Rhiannon and a male counterpart that

had killed a transient and his rider. The name of the officer and the victims

were being withheld, as usual. He was being held in critical condition in a

hospital. According to the report, one of his arms had been completely torn

from his body.

Gerald started up the pickup and headed for Colorado.

Vincent and Rhiannon flew south, knowing that they were being

pursued by the council and renegade bounty hunters. Arkansas was wild

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country, and there were sure to be plenty of places to hide there. Even in the

darkness, the terrain of Arkansas was beautiful. The ancient trees were laced

here and there with streams of water and an occasional dirt road. After a time,

they came to a trailer park, nestled inside the trees.

Vincent swooped low and landed upon the branch of a nearby tree. Rhiannon

followed suit and they studied the mobile homes. Windows were lit up in

most of the trailers, but not a soul was outside. One trailer caught their

interest, however. They could hear what sounded like an altercation going on

inside it. Rhiannon flew from the branch and settled lightly on the roof of the

trailer that the sounds were coming from. A sudden scream and crash startled

her. She hopped to the ground and took her human form. A large man stepped

from the interior of the trailer, beer bottle in hand. He took a long drink from

the bottle and pointed back through the open door, shouting at someone to

stop crying or he would give them something to cry about. That was the last

straw for Rhiannon. She moved on the man in a flash, ripping the side of his

face open. He screamed and dropped the bottle, turning to go back inside, but

Rhiannon slammed the door closed before he could move. She leapt upon

him, driving him to the ground, screaming in rage. She slashed his face again

with her long fingernails, taking out one of his eyes in the process. He

covered his face with both hands, leaving the rest of his body unprotected.

Rhiannon unzipped his pants and tore them off. Vincent watched in surprise

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as she also tore off the man’s briefs and proceeded to cleanly bite off his

penis.

By now the man’s screams had alerted the entire trailer park, people

stepped from their homes and watched the scene in horror. The child that he

was beating also stepped to the door, but was too shocked to move. Rhiannon

bit into his throat and blood sprayed her face and clothing. The man, though

weakened, continued to fight her. With a deft movement, she snapped his

neck, and drank the still living blood that flowed from his throat in full view

of all the spectators, her eyes glowing a brilliant red from her rage. Vincent

flapped down from the tree and landed on her shoulder, letting her know it

was time to leave this place. She performed the gestures and concentrated,

becoming a crow once more. The two flew off into the darkness.

Randy and Mike were making good progress. They had not fed much

in the past few nights, but as always, the thrill of the open road and their

mission kept them going. They listened to the news while they rode their

motorcycles. A late breaking news story came on about the slaying of a man

in Arkansas. He had been slaughtered by someone fitting the description of

Rhiannon. There had been several witnesses to the event. “So they have gone

south,” Randy mused to himself. “They are trying to throw everyone off their

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trail.” Unbeknownst to Randy and Mike, the local police had set up a

roadblock ahead of them. They were unspecifically looking for vampires, as

some of the members of the force still found the stories hard to believe. They

were more searching for anyone fitting Rhiannon’s description. In fact, road

blocks had been set up on all roads and highways. The brothers were

currently in Montana in the Lewis and Clark National Forest. Randy shared

the thought with Mike that Rhiannon was in Arkansas. They drove silently

Southeast for six miles before they saw the roadblock. It was too late for

them to turn back, as one of the officers had already spotted them. They tried

to appear as human as possible and slowed to a stop.

An officer strode up to Randy’s motorcycle and shone a flashlight into his

eyes.

“Hey, you a bloodsucker?” the officer asked, jokingly.

Randy just shot him a glance and told him no, that they were just out on a

road trip.

“Well, be careful in these parts,” the officer told him “You are headed right

into trouble if your going to Arkansas.”

The officers let them pass peacefully, but Randy and Mike were feeling a bit

jumpy from the encounter. They could have been discovered and implicated.

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Ahead of Randy and Mike, Gerald sleepily drove South on the

Interstate 25. He had decided after hearing the news of the murder in

Arkansas that he would try to find Rhiannon in Little Rock. The road became

a blur and he shook his head, trying to stay awake. He knew that if he parked

somewhere to sleep, that there was a possibility that an officer would awaken

him with an inspection of his truck and its holdings. He could not afford that

to happen. A sign by the highway advertised a truck stop ahead, and he

decided to take the off ramp. He pulled into the convenience store parking lot

and parked his pickup as far away from the mart as he could.

The restaurant section of the truck stop was fairly crowded with

various travelers, but mostly truck drivers. Gerald slid into a small booth next

to a window so he could watch his vehicle. The waitress handed him a menu

and asked what he would have to drink.

“Just coffee for now.” He told her and thumbed through the menu. Nothing

looked appetizing, but he ordered a cheeseburger and some fries. He drank

his coffee quickly and asked the waitress for more when she delivered his

order. She refilled his cup, then, looking into his sunken eyes, left the pot. He

thanked her and started on the burger.

As he ate, he realized that he was hungrier than he thought. By the time he

finished, the pot of coffee was empty. He walked from the restaurant portion

of the stop to the convenience store, finding what he was looking for at the

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counter. He purchased several packages of caffeine pills and returned to his

pickup. Thankfully, it had remained unmolested. He quickly checked the back

and its contents before unlocking the driver’s side door and getting in. He

quickly popped two of the caffeine pills and drove back to the highway,

feeling more awake, but somehow more ragged.

The Crows hadn’t come out of hiding for days. The emptiness inside

outweighed any remorse that they would have to endure if they fed. So they

left their shelter and felt refreshed by the night air, the atmosphere inside their

lair having the odor of death from previous kills. They had decided not to

bring the victims back to their lair anymore. They already had to dispose of

five bodies.

The Crows split up, The twins, Jason and Marilee headed for the south

side of the city, while Todd and Crystal walked toward the train yards, Lauren

and Shane turned into the business district. A train was being set up for

transport. Todd and Crystal knew that there would be derelicts hanging about.

They cloaked themselves and scoured the train yard, shielded by the

invisibility that Rhiannon had taught them to use. The living scent came from

an empty car that had just arrived. They boarded the car, their eyes adjusting

quickly to the darkness. In the back of the car sat two older men in ragged

clothing. They were looking around nervously, obviously worried about being

caught. Todd materialized in the doorway while Crystal slipped around

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behind them. The derelicts were on their feet immediately. One drew a

straight razor from his inside coat pocket. “This car is taken,” he muttered,

”you are going to have to find another one.”

Crystal emerged from the darkness and kicked the hand that held the straight

razor from behind the derelict. The weapon flew from his hand and landed at

Todd’s feet. The derelict turned in surprise and was unable to stop Crystal

from sweeping his legs from beneath him. His friend tried to dash for the

doorway, but was roughly thrown back into the car. Screams issued from the

train that had just arrived and a man with a flashlight hurried to check it out.

By the time he reached the car the screaming had stopped. He shone his

flashlight into the car. Two corpses lay upon the metal floor of the freight car,

their throats ripped wide open. The man searched the rest of the car with his

flashlight, but found no one else inside. He turned and hurried back to the

office.

The caffeine pills were working. Gerald listened to his C.B. radio and

occasionally spoke to other people that were on the road. A trucker’s voice

came over the radio.

“Hey, anyone out there headed for Arkansas?”

Gerald picked up his microphone.

“This is Grisly Bear, headed that direction, come back?”

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“Yeah, all the main roads are blocked by Smokies. Looking for vampires or

something.”

“10-4 on that, will be on the lookout.”

Marilee and Jason arrived at a small apartment complex that stood next

to a Vi-duct with train tracks running through it. A small group of teens that

Marilee and Jason recognized from High School sat on the curb next to a row

of trees, smoking cigarettes and laughing as they chatted together. From the

shadows the two Crows watched as the teens rose and walked toward the Vi-

duct. The teens climbed up the concrete sides of the structure and sat as if

expecting something. After a while, a train roared through and the teens

scrambled down the sides and began throwing rocks at it. Marilee and Jason

waited patiently until the train had passed, then approached the other teens.

“Busted!” Jason shouted humorously as they neared them.

The teenagers started, then relaxed as they remembered Jason and Marilee

from school.

“What are you two doing all the way out here? You live on the North side.” A

larger stocky teen wanted to know.

“Just out for a midnight walk, what’s your excuse?”

“Just having a little fun here.”

“Mind if we join you?”

“Sure, come on over, another train is due in a half hour.”

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Marilee and Jason climbed up the side of the structure and sat with the other

teenagers. All together the others added up to six. They would have to be

separated to be fed upon. The stocky teenager pulled a plastic bag from his

coat pocket, it held three joints, a small amount of marijuana, and a pipe.

Soon almost everyone was passing the intoxicants around, giggling for no

reason, and their antics were getting wilder and wilder by the minute. The

stocky teen and a pretty dark haired girl left the others and walked to the

other side of the vi-duct, just out of sight. The others were amused by this and

the giggling increased. Marilee and Jason knew that if they took these teens

they would be intoxicated by their blood.

A mild shaking sensation was felt by everyone and the teens hurried

back down the sloping walls of the vi-duct and began to pile up stones.

Marilee and Jason decided that this was the time to feed. Jason grasped a

female by the arm and threw her in front of the train, Marilee followed suit

and threw a male onto the tracks. Screaming at the sight of their friend’s

demise, the two remaining teens made a wild dash for the apartment complex.

The two Crows were faster and brought them down like wolves. As the train

continued to roar by, Marilee and Jason fed until they were satisfied.

The others had to be taken out also, Marilee and Jason waited until the train

had passed, then followed the scent of the male and female. They soon found

them, making out in a grassy clearing near the tracks. They had not heard

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their friend’s screams because of the noise of the passing train. Marilee and

Jason took them easily, there had to be no witnesses.

Lauren and Shane walked past several bars. A seemingly drunk man

staggered out of one with a skinny blonde in his arm. Laughing and talking,

they walked down an alley, completely disregarding the two darkly dressed

Crows. Shane thought about feeding on these two for a moment, but he

wanted to stay sharp, and he knew that their blood would pass on the

intoxication. Lauren had already made up her mind to find better quarry. She

walked ahead of Shane and turned slightly, bidding him to follow. He sighed

and hurried to catch up with her.

Finally, they spotted two fairly rotund women leaving the Greyhound bus

station. Both were fairly weighed down with luggage. They sat down on a

bench by the street, obviously waiting for a ride. Shane, having already

mastered his mind control technique, walked right up to the women and

spoke a few words to them. They both rose and followed him to an alley

behind a nearby building. Lauren looked around to make sure that she was

not seen, then walked after them. Shane was already feeding on one while the

other looked on, still under his spell. Lauren jerked her head back and sank

her teeth into the woman’s throat.

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When the crows got back together at the derelict house, Shane and

Lauren opened up several pieces of luggage and rifled through the contents.

The clothing was not of much use to them, but they managed to find over a

thousand dollars in the purses. Marilee, Crystal, and Lauren found some

rather large pieces of lingerie and were giggling, tossing them at each other.

Todd, Shane and Jason dragged the decomposing bodies of their previous

kills out to the back yard and began digging a grave. Feeling partially

responsible, the girls soon joined them. Three hours later, as the sun began to

rise, they dumped the bodies into a fairly large hole and began to cover them

with soil.

Gerald finally slept, he stopped at a motel and got a room for the night.

He just couldn’t drive any more. He was exhausted and his caffeine pills had

run out. He vowed to wake up by 7:00. He had passed the Arkansas border

long ago. Taking a back road so as not to run into the roadblocks. Somehow

he knew that Rhiannon was here. He tossed and turned for a half hour, then

fell asleep.

His dreams were filled with the horror of the bodies of

the teenagers and his son. The corpses came to life and

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reached out to him, blood pouring from their necks. They

whispered as they approached him, and he had to strain to

hear them. His own son embraced him, covering him with

blood. “Avenge us. Avenge us.........” they spoke.

Randy and Mike called upon Minx again. They were camped out in a

wooded area in Arkansas. Their campfire blazed with the same bright red

light and they were once more enveloped with the blue flame. Minx appeared,

her blonde hair reflecting the red firelight.

“Rhiannon and Vincent are two miles north of your current position.” Her

voice echoed through the stillness. ”Now is your chance to take them.”

Vincent and Rhiannon had found a cave in which to sleep away the

daytime. They had curled up together on the cold stone floor. Now they

awakened with a sense that they were about to fight for their lives. They did

not know who had found them, but that was not important.

Vincent crept up to the cave’s entrance, flattening himself against the wall by

the opening. He scented the air, analyzing it. There were two vampires

nearby. He did not recognize their scents as assassins of the council.

Rhiannon crouched behind a stalagmite, scenting as Vincent did.

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Randy and Mike found the cave that was the temporary lair of the two

they sought. Randy pulled out his 9mm Ruger and carefully approached the

cave’s entrance. Mike had his Glock ready, following Randy’s lead. The two

hoped that they would have the element of surprise.

From the temple of Lilith, Minx and Serene sat in

Serene’s private quarters, watching the scene with the

viewing window. They knew that Rhiannon and Vincent would

not be killed so easily. The two watched intently, the need to

witness the event was crucial. They could see that Randy and

Mike Schmidt were approaching the cave’s entrance, but

inside, Vincent was ready for the attack. Mike and Randy had

terribly underestimated the elder vampire. They crept up to

the opening, then rushed inside.

The window shifted and Serene and Minx watched as

Vincent came from behind the two unaware brothers, who’s

focus was erroneously upon Rhiannon. A struggle ensued,

Vincent striking Mike across the temple with a well placed

kick and throwing Randy against the opposite wall of the

chamber. Rhiannon joined the fight by leaping onto Randy’s

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back as he staggered to his knees. She slashed his throat

open with her fingernails and he fell onto his stomach,

choking. Shots rang out as Mike fired the Glock at Rhiannon,

striking her in the shoulder and grazing her temple. Bullets

ricocheted off the cave walls and everyone hit the floor to

avoid being shot. Rhiannon and Vincent sped for the exit,

transforming as they ran. By the time they reached the

opening they were large crows.

They flew away into the night, leaving the brothers to

recuperate. Serene was very impressed with the traitorous

Vincent. He was still obeying council law. He had only

defended against the attacking vampires, not killing them

was an act of strength and loyalty. There might still be hope

for him.

Gerald stopped his pickup at a small diner/truckstop for some dinner

and coffee. He had been lucky enough to catch some sleep and felt awake

enough to go on, but something more was happening inside his mind. The

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dream he had was some kind of message from the slain victims of Rhiannon.

He was the tool of her demise. Maybe he was becoming demented from his

experience at the Salton Sea and his lack of sleep, he did not know. He only

knew that he was designated to eliminate her.

Chapter 5

Rhiannon’s wingbeats were painful. She had been struck in the

shoulder, but the bullet had dropped out when she morphed. She only knew

that she had to feed. Below them, Vincent spotted a busy truck stop, and

swooped low into the tree line on the outskirts. Rhiannon followed him down.

They transformed back into their humanoid form and watched from the brush.

A truck was parked nearby and they could smell the occupant inside. He was

asleep in the back of the cab. Vincent yanked the door open, breaking the

lock. The truckdriver was instantly on his feet, pulling a large knife from his

boot. Vincent snapped his arm easily and struck him across the mouth with

the back of his hand, shattering several teeth. The knife clattered away across

the pavement. Vincent threw him back into the sleeper and bit into the inner

elbow of the arm he had just broken. Rhiannon climbed into the truck and

sank her teeth into the man’s throat. They enjoyed his blood together, draining

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him as slowly as possible. The man struggled, but was unable to scream as he

had three of his own teeth lodged in his throat. Finally, his struggling ceased

and Vincent and Rhiannon left his withered corpse in the sleeper.

A thin blonde leaned against the wall near the diner area of the truck

stop. She periodically spoke to the men leaving the restaurant in a hushed

voice. One man even stopped long enough for her to flash her drooping

breasts to him, then he went on his way, a slight grin on his face. Rhiannon

spotted her immediately. She prompted Vincent and he walked over to the

whore. As Rhiannon watched intently, they spoke together for a few

moments, then entered the alley between the car wash and the mini mart.

The blonde dropped to her knees before Vincent and began to unzip his pants

as Rhiannon approached them. The blonde looked at her and back at Vincent.

“I had no idea you wanted a threesome, but whatever your poison, honey.”

Rhiannon jerked her to her feet and slammed her against the wall, her

fingernails digging into the sides of the blonde’s neck. The prostitute

struggled weakly, then fainted.

“She isn’t worth our trouble.” Vincent said, “Lets find someone else.”

Gerald had been watching the prostitute with little interest until the tall,

blonde man had taken her away. In her profession, she should have been back

within twenty minutes. He took another drink of his coffee, then rose and left

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a couple of wadded bills at his table for the waitress. He stepped outside just

in time to hear a small scream. Gerald hurried in the general direction of the

sound and discovered the prostitute lying on the ground. He felt for a pulse

and found her still alive. She had only fainted, but was bleeding from a badly

bruised and slightly lacerated neck. She slowly awakened and winced at the

pain.

“Don’t try to move, I’ll get help.”

She laid her head back onto the concrete and Gerald rushed to a phone booth

and dialed 911.

The local Sheriff’s department found the dead trucker and loaded the

prostitute onto a stretcher. She had a bad case of whiplash and some vertebral

damage to her neck. She described to them the two that had assaulted her.

They fit the description of Rhiannon and the unknown vampire that was

helping her. Gerald knew that they had to be hiding somewhere in the

forested area north of the truck stop. He decided to scour the woods by day.

Gerald’s idea was shared by the Sheriff’s department. At daybreak the

forest was filled with deputies and bloodhounds. Rhiannon and Vincent were

in an abandoned mineshaft this time, they had no choice, when the weakness

came they were powerless against it. Vincent fought to stay awake. He could

hear the baying of the hounds and the shouts of the deputies that sought them.

Civilians joined the hunt and a news crew broadcast the events of the

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preceding night, interviewing deputies and civilians that had even the smallest

bit of information.

The door to the lair burst open and officers swarmed inside. The sun

was high in the noon sky and the Crows were asleep. Neighbors had

complained about an odor coming from the house. Together they were

slammed against the wall and searched thoroughly for weapons. Finding

none, the officers began to handcuff the struggling vampires. Crystal felt a

surge inside herself that she had never known and the officer cuffing her

wrists suddenly burst into flame. Shocked by this sudden horrific sight,

everyone froze except for Crystal. She turned to the rest of the officers, her

dark hair blowing back from her face, her eyes blazing red. She reached out

her arms and flame shot from her palms, igniting everyone in its path. The

crows dove for cover while the officers rolled upon the floor, trying to put out

the magical flames, but to no avail. Screams of agony filled the air and the

crows hurried into another room, slamming the door behind them. Crystal

made sure to ignite all of the lawmen. The strain of the power caused tears to

stream down her face. The flames crawled up the walls and drapery and

Crystal realized that she had to rescue her friends.

The Crows exited the house, the sun making the escape almost

unbearable. Todd opened the door to a squad car and turned the key, the

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engine roared to life and the rest of the crows piled into the vehicle. Crystal

swooned from the intense drain of strength from what she had just done. They

drove away from the burning house, squealing the tires across the driveway

and down the street. They had been discovered, and barely escaped with their

lives. They knew that they would be hunted.

Rhiannon and Vincent could not sleep. They had made a serious

mistake in not killing the prostitute when they could. The baying of the

bloodhounds seemed to be getting closer and closer by the minute. Vincent

summoned up all of the power he had, but it was slightly hampered by the

daytime. He planned to defend Rhiannon to his last breath. She sat back

against the wall beside him, her hand on his knee. She had been his at last, all

he had ever wanted. The centuries that he had lived seemed like nothing until

he had first seen her. He put his arm around her and pulled her close, kissing

her forehead, then her eyes.

The bloodhounds led the officers to an abandoned mine. Gerald had

been following their search on his own. He knew that the only way to be sure

that Rhiannon could be eliminated was by fire, and these deputies were not

appropriately equipped for the job. A deputy stepped up to the opening and

shined his flashlight into the interior. He slowly lowered himself down the

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small ladder that led down into the mine. Suddenly, without warning, he was

dragged from the ladder at lightening speed. The rest of the deputies stood,

frozen in horror as the deputy screamed several times, then was silent. The

opening to the cave was only large enough for one person to go in at a time,

and the two vampires inside had an advantage. Gerald stepped over to the

Sheriff and nudged him.

“I have something that could solve this problem if you will trust me.”

Gerald and a few deputies uncovered the stash of weapons in the back

of his pickup. Gerald climbed into the bed and pulled away the top of the

wooden box that housed one of the two rocket launchers. He handed it and a

few missiles to the men. He took several grenades and stuffed them into a bag

and they climbed back up to the mine.

Vincent and Rhiannon tossed the remains of the mangled man that had

invaded the mine into a closed tunnel toward the back of the main chamber.

Vincent stood near the entrance, ready for the next human to try the same.

None came, but they could smell several individuals standing around the

entrance. Rhiannon began to think about the apparent hesitation on the part of

the humans above. They must be planning a different measure of attack. She

clasped Vincent’s shoulder and pulled him away from the entrance.

“I think we should try to find another exit.”

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Vincent thought for a second, then agreed.

They entered one of the larger tunnels leading from the main chamber, seeing

in the darkness as clearly as day. The tunnel was long, but decreased in

diameter as they went on until they had to crawl. They reached another

opening and dropped from it into another large chamber. Rhiannon relaxed

and sat against the wall below the opening. Vincent joined her and they sat

together, wondering what the humans plans were plotting.

Gerald set up the rocket launcher at the entrance of the mine, pointing

it downward into the main chamber. He motioned for the other men to stand

back and fired one missile into the mine. The rocket hit the floor and

exploded. Flame shot out of the entrance, and Gerald dove for cover. The

entrance to the mine held up, but they could hear stones falling inside the

chamber. Gerald pulled the pin from a grenade and dropped it into the

opening. After a couple of seconds it exploded and the entryway to the mine

collapsed.

A week later, some children gathered around the caved-

in Mineshaft. Curiosity about the events of last week had

intrigued the children enough to allay any fear. One child

climbed down the ladder and they slowly began to remove

stones from the caved-in entrance. After a couple hours of

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this, the children finally created an opening large enough to

peek through.

“Give me your flashlight, Vern!” The child at the bottom

demanded, peering through the small hole.

Suddenly, the child was yanked through the small hole,

leaving a large amount of blood on the rocks of the tiny

opening. The other children fled, screaming in terror.

Randy and Mike tried to rest after their fight with

Vincent and Rhiannon, Randy's throat was healing, but very

slowly. They were almost out of bullets after the melee.

Somehow they sensed that someone else had done their job

for them. They had failed on their mission. They knew that

they should report back to the council, but were hesitant to

do so. They did not know if they would be rewarded for their

efforts or turned away.

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The Shadow of Rhiannon - Book Two – Persecution and

War

Chapter 6

Bound and gagged, the accused were herded into the

church. People flung obscenities and accusations at the

prisoners. The pastor shouted for silence and the noise slowly

died. Television crews filed into the building and focused their

cameras on the charged.

“You have been accused of the state of vampirism,” The

black-robed pastor stated, standing before the hapless

prisoners. “You will be executed in this house of God. Confess

to your crimes and your death will be a quick one.”

One by one the prisoners were allowed to speak. Some

pleaded for their lives, claiming innocence, only to be

shouted down by the crowd. Others remained silent, having

endured so much torture over the past week that they were

unable to speak. A few stood and admitted to being

vampires, their eyes wild with fear, wanting the torture to

end. Then,

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one by one, with the camera crews documenting every

moment, silver knives were slowly driven into their hearts.

Only three of the ten accused actually died in the manner of

the vampire, aging rapidly before the eyes of the onlookers

and turning to dust. Those that had confessed were

beheaded with a blessed sword. The reality of the seven

innocents that died was irrelevant to the crowd, accepted as

casualties of a holy war. Their bodies were taken away to a

mass grave, nearly filled with the pitiful bodies of the wrongly

slain. The families of those who were innocent had followed

and now stood on the edge of the pit with tearstained faces,

bidding farewell to those that they had erroneously

implicated. The police searched more homes. Protesting

occupants were dragged from them and taken to the church.

Iron manacles had been added to the walls in the

basement of the house of God. A pleading woman was

chained there in full view of the others. She was to be an

initial example to them of what was to take place there. The

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priest himself had volunteered to carry out the torture and

interrogation. “Have you ever partaken of human blood?” He

asked, not meeting her eyes, instead he arranged on a table

various implements of torture.

She responded by pleading with him again that she was

innocent, her eyes wild with fear. She had been present when

other people had been killed, and knew that her pleas would

fall on deaf ears. The priest produced a knife and immersed

it in a basin of holy water that stood by his side. He repeated

the question, and not receiving a satisfactory answer, deftly

seized her arm and cut through the soft flesh of its

underside. She screamed in pain, causing the others to

flinch. Unwavering, the priest replaced the knife on the table

and picked up a long ice pick. She cried uncontrollably now.

The priest stood before her, his eyes stonily fixed, as if he

were not seeing her but past her, into a great personal

purpose. “Who else do you know that is an abomination to

the Lord?” She did not respond this time and he plunged the

pick into her midsection. She screamed again and swooned

into a dead faint. The priest lifted her head for a moment,

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studying her face, then dropped it back. Two strong men

unchained her from the wall and carried her away to another

room to revive her. A man was brought forth this time; he

refused to speak at all, knowing it would get him nowhere. A

table with long legs was carried to his side and his right hand

was placed upon it. Snapping a cuff around his wrist, the

priest began questioning him. One by one, the man’s fingers

were chopped off, the blood flow halted by rolls of cotton.

Suddenly, his eyes fixed in despair, the man agreed, yes, he

was a vampire. The priest unlocked the cuff and the man was

taken away. The imaginative holy man applied a different

torture to each new prisoner. Faces were cut, body parts

sliced off, painful fluids were injected under skin, and flesh

was shredded. The torture continued through the night until

each prisoner had either fainted, or implicated themselves

and others to be vampires. Their execution was set for the

next day.

The Crows were forced to leave the city when the killing

began. They left in the night, fleeing the madness that had

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gripped the public. They traveled through the darkness. The

blonde-headed twins, Marilee and Jason brought up the rear.

They always hung close to each other as if drawing strength

from their sibling. Crystal hung close to her boyfriend, Todd.

He looped a protective arm around her and they fell into their

accustomed synchronized step. Shane, being the oldest and

strongest of them, stayed slightly ahead of the rest. His keen

senses picking up the slightest movement, sound, or scent.

Crystal’s sister, Lauren, walked slightly behind him, lost in

her thoughts. They had fed upon free roaming cattle along

their path. Even though the blood was not as satisfying as

human blood, they felt sated for the time being.

Finding a derelict warehouse outside the city limits, the

Crows stopped to rest and wait through the daylight hours.

Unlike the myths of vampires that had endured for so many

years, they were able to move about in the daytime. Their

powers were only weakened by the daytime and the light

was painful to their newly sensitive eyes. They knew that the

relentless vampire hunters that had been elected by the

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people were pursuing them. They unknowingly implicated

themselves by their flight from them.

Todd and Shane entered the building first while the rest

of the Crows waited outside. This was the first place that they

found that did not look inhabited, but they had to be careful.

The humans might have laid a trap here for them. Jason and

Marilee were silent for once, their almond shaped green eyes

gleaming in the darkness. After a few moments, Shane re-

emerged and gave the rest the signal that all was clear and

they followed him inside. The sun was rising with golden

streaks across the horizon and Crystal felt a pang of sadness

at its beauty. The world around them had changed so

drastically, and she felt homesick. They found a place to lie

down in the back of the building in some torn up insulation.

Crystal crept close to Todd and they embraced. He held her

close to his muscular body and they settled in for the day.

The weakness overtook them and they slept.

Crystal opened her eyes and started to speak, but Todd

placed a hand over her mouth and shushed her. She sniffed

the air and realized that the hunters had found them.

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Crystal could smell the blood running through their veins and

grew hungry. Night had fallen and the others were also

awakening. Footsteps echoed through the warehouse and a

flashlight beam searched the corners of their haven. Shane

rose from the floor, a deep growling sound issued from his

chest and his eyes flashed red in the darkness.

“Get back against the wall.” Todd ordered the Crows

and they could sense the growing excitement of the others.

Crystal could tell now that there were four invaders. She

could sense their fear at having found them after dark.

Shane and Todd advanced on the intruders, who were

pitifully unaware that they were about to die. Crystal’s eyes

quickly focused and the darkness became as light as day.

Shane leapt upon the intruder closest to the door and

quickly tore out his throat before the man could scream. The

others seemed to sense that something was amiss and

shone their lights around urgently, a beam found the Crows

against the wall and the woman holding the flashlight

shouted to the others that she had found them. Crystal felt

her teeth extend and she attacked her. They struggled and

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Crystal struck her across the face with her right fist,

shattering her cheekbone and nose. She screamed and

Crystal felt arms encircle her ribs and drag her away from

the injured woman. She gripped the wrist and snapped the

offending left arm easily. Crystal was released as the hunter

sank to the floor, moaning as he clutched his broken arm.

She attacked the inert woman again, yanking her from the

floor and sinking her teeth into her neck. As she weakly

fought, Crystal could sense the struggle all around her. She

stopped drinking and found her sister, mentally inviting her

to finish the woman off. She responded and Crystal glanced

around at the others, they were making short work of the

vampire hunters. She warily crept outside and sniffed the

night air. She did not sense any others. She spotted a

pickup parked a short distance away and approached it.

Turning her attention to the cab of the truck, she found that

the keys were still in the ignition. Blood soaked her shirt and

the pleasurable tingles against her skin distracted her from

the vehicle. Crystal decided to reenter the warehouse for

seconds.

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The crows fed on the hunters until the bodies were

emptied. The others left the warehouse, letting Todd and

Crystal have some time alone. They knelt face to face,

tracing each other’s bodies with blood slickened fingertips,

enjoying the moments of sensual pleasure they were giving

to each other, their cares temporarily forgotten. They

pressed their bodies together, rubbing the fresh blood

between them, their breathing coming in quickened gasps.

Their lips met and Crystal ran her tongue over his lips, then

his sharp teeth. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he

pushed her down to the floor and removed what little was left

of her clothing and his own.

Spent, but not tired, Todd and Crystal stripped new

clothing off the bodies for themselves. Crystal marveled to

herself briefly at the callousness she had achieved about

humans, wondering if it was their fault or her own. Pulling

boots from the woman she attacked, it suddenly became

clear to her. She was now a predator, to survive, she had to

put thoughts of the plight of the prey out of her head. After

all, does the wolf cry over the slain rabbit?

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Todd and Crystal left the warehouse and joined the

others, who were patiently waiting at the truck. They heaped

slightly damaged clothing into the cab. They had

transportation now. They made use of every part of our prey,

never wasting anything. So had Rhiannon taught them. They

often wished she had stayed.

The Council gathered in the temple of Lilith. The recent

events lent an air of urgency and seriousness. Aviona sat in

the seat once occupied by the treasonous Vincent. She had

been elected to the V-Council of the Ancients when he freed

Rhiannon and left his position to assist her. Serene sat in the

position of the high priestess of the Council. For the time

being, her word was the law. She always kept a black hooded

robe over her body and much of her red hair. To her right sat

Clive, the master of assassins, he was heavily muscled, his

bulging arms straining the fabric of the red robe he was

accustomed to wearing at all times. His duties were to

initiate, train, and appoint hired vampires to carry out the

darker works of the Council. To her left sat the Sorcerer and

Sorceress, Josephala and Minx. The panel of advisors took the

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seats alongside the strategy table. These were Aviona,

Malachi, DC, and Jerichon.

Serene spoke first, as was the custom, her resounding

voice echoing through the great hall. “In light of the recent

events, we must decide what is to be done with the humans.

It is far too late to bring back the comfort of secrecy that we

have accomplished through the past century. Even now, the

paranoia of the human race is decimating our numbers and

action must be taken to insure our survival.”

The members of the council shifted uncomfortably, each

recalling their personal experiences with the persecution in

the times before the great veiling. Malachi stood and bowed

slightly to Serene.

“We must fight back. The threat of our extinction is

imminent. We can turn the tide of these events. We are

stronger, faster and more powerful, but their numbers are

greater. It is well known that the humans have long been

fascinated by the myths and legends of our kind. We can use

this fascination against them.”

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Aviona spoke quietly, as was her habit. The others

leaned forward slightly to hear her. “Most of their myths of us

are based in fact. I see accuracy in their methods of

execution.”

Malachi snorted non-commitally. “They are ignorant of our

power, their fairy tales of us are inaccurate. With the proper

strategy we can overcome them.”

Serene nodded. The high council joined the advisors at

the strategy table and together, they began to plan their

course of action. There was great anger in the hearts of the

Council still from the awakening of the American public to

their presence. The memory of Rhiannon’s capture and

subsequent release by the treasonous Vincent remained

fresh in their minds.

Clive entered the arms chamber. The assassins were

gathered there, awaiting their orders. The Master Assassins,

Keokuk, Drake, Drago, Devin, Amos, Blake, Reese and

Simone stood to the forefront, wearing the robes of their

standing. Keokuk, who had been one of the two only

surviving assassins that was sent after the treasonous

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Vincent and Rhiannon had gained a truly authorative

position. His chiseled, hawk like features did little to betray

the apprehension that he and all of the gathered assassins

were feeling. For nearly a century, they had carried out the

law enforcement edge of the V-Council. They knew that the

situation was grave. It was not often that they were all called

into one place at the same time. Clive greeted them with a

nod, and they grouped around a long table. Methodically, he

laid out the plans that changed the world forever.

The Crows arrived at the limits of a small town. The

night was already halfway over and they were hungry. From

the hilltop they could see lights on in the houses of the

townspeople. Armed guards patrolled the streets. They

silently filed down the hillside, one purpose bonding them:

they had to feed. The town was obviously on the alert, but

not from them. They feared someone else. Scenting the air,

Crystal realized that they were not the only vampires in the

vicinity. The scent was faint, as if it was coming from several

miles distant. This was what these people feared. She

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mentally sent this message to the others and they stopped,

scenting the air with her. Shane and Todd stood close

together, quietly talking. Crystal drew closer to them to hear

what they were saying.

“It would be dangerous to feed here.”

“But we must have it.”

“They are watching for something, we may have to move

on.”

“This is the only civilization for miles.”

“If there are more vampires in the area, we may be able to

find them and join them.”

“What if they are not friendly?"

“That is a chance we will have to take.”

They altered our course down the hill and followed the

scent of the others. The hunger grew inside as they began to

pass the town, but they did not stop. The scent became

stronger as they reached the opposite city limits, and soon

they spotted high jagged cliffs. The scent drew them to a

cave. The Crows stopped, unsure of how to proceed, having

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not seen other vampires since they were taken prisoner by

the assassins of the Council and held in the temple for

interrogation about Rhiannon. They did not have long to wait,

however. A figure appeared in the opening of the cave and

motioned for them to come closer. As they drew nearer they

could see that there were others inside the cave. Crystal

counted six visible figures. They began to leave the cave as

the Crows approached and they silently sized each other up.

“What are you doing around here?” The first one asked. He

eyed the Crows skeptically.

Shane pushed his way forward to face him. “We came to

feed, but it is obviously not possible, is that your doing?”

“We were sent to bring some of the people from the town

back to the rest of our band. We are hungry too. We were

caught in one of the houses that we went to and we barely

escaped with those you see here. The townspeople still have

five of our party, and they are going to execute them.”

They were silent for a moment, remembering the actions of

the humans in their hometown.

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“Are you going to try to rescue the prisoners?”

“That is what we were discussing until you came. We could

use your help.”

The Crows joined them in the cave, quietly discussing options

and plotting a rescue.

Daylight came and they slept in the cave, fear gripped

them as the weakness came. They knew that they would be

interrogating the captives and that would take some time.

What they feared was that they would be found in the cave

by the humans and terminated in their sleep. They decided

to take turns watching over the group.

Crystal was awakened by one of the other party

members who immediately fell asleep. The light hurt her

eyes. She pulled a pair of sunglasses from her jacket pocket

and staggered to the cave’s entrance. She uncomfortably

gazed out across the colorful countryside. The sun hung high

in the sky and she shifted irritably in its heat.

The afternoon wore on and the sun began to sink on the

western side of the horizon and Crystal decided to give one

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of the others a turn. She crept into the cave once more and

awakened Jason. He faded in and out of consciousness for a

few moments, then rose and stumbled to the entrance. She

curled up beside Todd and thankfully sank into

unconsciousness.

Shane dreamt for the first time he could remember in weeks.

As if time had run backwards in his mind the image of

Rhiannon materialized before him, as she had been when he

had first seen her. She had seemed to carry with her an aura

of pure darkness, seductive shadowy beauty surrounded her

that burned her image into his memory and assured that her

would never see another woman with the same attraction

ever again. Completely uninhibited, she called out to him

and aroused him like he had never been excited before. Her

hypnotic, crystal clear blue eyes and black hair made her

truly unique from anyone in his life. His mind slowly moved

forward, recalling his experience with her that led to his

rebirth.

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She was following him, discreetly enough that no one but

him noticed. He would turn from time to time and catch a

glimpse of her tall, lovely form before the air around her

shimmered and she was gone again. His job search had

turned into a cat and mouse game with him as the prey, but

he felt no fear, felt no threat from her, only a growing

anticipation of his own capture. Evening had come with her

appearance and with the night air he felt her power over him

growing stronger. He did not know what she wanted, but he

certainly knew what he desired from her, and he knew he

would get it.

Rhiannon followed closely behind the young man that

drew her attention. She read in his subconscious mind that

which he wanted, and she was more than willing to give it to

him. She felt no inclination to slay him, but to take him and

show him what true power could be. He was aware of her

presence, that was obvious, so she let him feel her

attentions. She just had to be with him alone. He was as

blonde as Vincent, his hair hanging in waves over his

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youthfully wide shoulders and neck, and she longed deeply

for a taste of his flesh. She began to sense that he was

heading for his home at last and she began to feel an ache

that was from more than the emptiness of her appetite. She

began to call out to him mentally, preparing him for what he

would experience in her arms.

He stopped once again, looking her way. This time she

did not cloak herself, but approached him, passion filling her

eyes. She could smell the sudden sweat that broke out over

his body and the hunger took her. She resisted the

temptation to exert any kind of mental control over him,

needing him awake and responsive. He turned, halfway

expecting her to vanish again, but she did not this time.

Instead she stepped forward and he could see that she

wanted him. The secrecy was gone and he suddenly realized

what and who she was. Strangely, he felt no fear, somehow

knowing that she would not treat him the same as she had

those that he had seen on the news. She moved closer to

him and rubbed her body upon his, nuzzling his face and hair

with the affection of an animal. A shudder ran through his

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body and he felt himself become excited. She licked his

neck with the tip of her tongue and he took her hand in his

own. He led her into the building. Without a word he

unlocked the door and they slipped into his apartment.

Unlike the myths he had known about her kind, she was

warm and more alive to his touch than any female he had

ever been with. Within seconds their clothing littered the

floor and his desire increased with an obsessive need to

experience her. She tasted so sweet that he lost all thought

but a deep desire to please her. He kissed the skin of her

throat, then moved back up to her soft lips and she opened

her mouth for him. He suddenly felt her sharp eyeteeth with

the tip of his tongue. They made love until he was almost

exhausted. She then sank her teeth into his neck. Brilliant

color exploded in his mind with the most erotic sensations he

had ever experienced. He weakened slowly and as he

reached the point of death with a smile upon his lips, she

rolled him onto his back and slashed her wrist with a long

fingernail. She opened his mouth and let the blood drain

from her wrist down his throat. He swallowed weakly and

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then drank deeply. Strength returned to his body and she

removed her wrist from his grasp.

Jason awoke them at dusk, they rose slowly, stretching

and taking deep breaths of the nighttime air, Shane,

however, remained asleep, a smile on his lips as if he were

clinging to an intoxicating dream. As such feelings were in

short supply, they let him sleep a few moments longer before

rousing him and getting on their way. He strode boldly,

seemingly lost in thought, but more powerful in conviction. In

the guise of birds the messengers flew to the outposts of the

vampire warlords. Driven from the cities they hunted, the

reborn were gathering in the lesser temples to await the

orders of the V-Council.

They had sent a hunting party to gather fresh

sustenance from the nearby town, but the group had not yet

returned. Darkness fell once again. Vampires from the

temple spread out across the countryside, falling upon

roaming cattle for precious blood. Only a few remained at

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the outpost. A large black raven lighted on top of a broken

chimney

and, warbling softly, hopped down to the floor before Warlord

Csyrus Reinholdt. The air around the bird shimmered briefly

and from it’s place rose a tall, slender vampire with shoulder

length black hair.

Csyrus greeted him with a nod. “What are the Council’s

orders?”

“Call back your strays, and gather your strongest in the

temple. I must be heard by all that rest here.”

“As you wish.”

The Crows knew that they would feed soon, and the

thought lifted their spirits. They turned toward the town with

their new comrades.

They shape shifted when they reached the town limits. In

the form of wolves they crept into the streets. They were one

in their thoughts, knowing what each and every one of them

was feeling. The streets were deserted; all lights were out

except for the church where they knew the townspeople

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were gathered. The tall stained glass windows shone in the

night.

They quickly surrounded the building, stationing

themselves at the windows. From inside they could hear the

shouts of the humans, they could smell their blood and they

grew hungry again.

The Shadow of Rhiannon

Chapter 7

The priest stood before the bound captives. Reciting the

Lord’s Prayer, he sprinkled holy water on them. Seeing that it

did not burn them, he faltered momentarily, then regained

his composure. “Spawn of Satan, thou art the filth of all that

is evil in this world. Your crimes against humanity condemn

you too the bowels of hell when you depart this earth. Beg

for forgiveness and the almighty may save your souls.

”Turning, the priest took a bundle from the alter. He slowly

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unrolled it and produced seven long silver daggers. He

motioned to a group of men standing apart from the crowd

and they hauled one of the vampires to her feet.

“I am ready to accept your confession.” The priest stated,

glowering at her. She remained silent and smiled broadly,

exposing long, pointed fangs.

The priest raised the dagger and was about to plunge it

into her heart when the sound of shattering glass stopped

him. Now there were twelve wolves in the church,

surrounding the frightened crowd. Before the priest could

react, the hand holding the dagger was gone, ripped from his

arm by a large black wolf. He fell to the floor, and was

immediately seized by the animal, his shrieks turning to

gurgling sounds as he choked on blood. The others leapt

upon other members of the flock, ripping them apart with

lightning speed. Guns were drawn and fired, striking furry

bodies with little effect, only causing the wolves to falter

momentarily. In a panic, several people rushed to the closed

door, trampling several hapless individuals that fell under the

crush of bodies. More gunshots were heard and one wolf

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yelped in agony as a bullet penetrated it’s skull, immediately

transforming into human form, then dust as death took it.

The prisoners crouched against the back wall to avoid the

carnage. More humans were rent from limb to limb, the floor

becoming slick with blood.

The door was finally flung open and people spilled into

the street, bleeding from severe lacerations. Bruised and

broken, survivors collapsed to the ground, weeping from

terror. Others ran for their homes, not caring what was

transpiring in the church.

The church was now deserted of mobile humans.

Numerous bodies littered the floor alongside their

dismembered parts. The wolves had regained their vampire

forms and were drinking from some of those still clinging to

life. They had freed the prisoners and they joined the others

in the feast. The vampire that had been shot was one of the

other group that the Crows had met. They finished with

satisfied appetites and prepared to leave the church.

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The others led the Crows to the outpost. It was nothing

more than an abandoned schoolhouse. Most of the roof was

missing. From the middle of the building stood a blackened

fireplace with a tall chimney jutting high into the air. They

entered the encampment with a sense of pride in their

accomplishments, but an uncertainty of how they would be

received nagged at their minds. The Crows did not have to

tell them what they had done, however. They knew by

reading their thoughts. They were welcomed warmly and led

into the schoolhouse. The town was weakened now, and the

remaining citizens would provide proper nourishment for the

encampment. They had to strike again immediately.

Doors were locked and windows closed as frightened

humans retreated to their homes, their minds numbed by the

slaughter they had witnessed. The half moon shone

overhead as the silent deserted streets waited for another

onslaught. A large flock of crows hovered overhead, then

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settled onto the empty streets. They took strategic places

throughout the town and the second attack began.

Screams and gunshots echoed through the night as the

houses were broken into and the families were fed upon. In

an uncontrollable lust for blood the vampires rushed from

dwelling to dwelling, massacring all that carried the scent of

life. Following orders given by the council, those of the

vampires that had their fill heaped guns of all kinds in the

town square. As the moon sank lower into the west, supplies

and weapons were loaded into vehicles and they left a

decimated, corpse-filled community behind.

The closest city was known as Jackson Hole, in

Wyoming. Following the Council’s elaborate plans, the

vampires waited until dusk and spread out through the city.

The streets were moderately populated, and they blended in

nicely. They found homes in key locations throughout the

town, and, in the form of luminescent mist, infiltrated the

dwellings. In each house, they drained one family member.

When finished, they returned to the caves in the cliffs outside

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the city. The following night the “sick” individuals were

possessed by the insane bloodlust of the newly reborn,

slaughtering their families and taking to the streets to kill

more. Chaos reigned in the city of Jackson Hole and the

vampires watched from the cliff sides, admiring their

handiwork. In one night the population of the city was

decreased by two-thirds. The tall slender messenger was

dispatched to bring news of the victory to the V-Council.

Morning came to the city of Jackson Hole with blood red

streaks across the sky, seemingly mirroring the blood spilled

in the preceding night’s massacre. Kate Tristan huddled with

her three children in an upstairs bedroom. Jake had gone to

help out with the gathering of the dead in the city. She had

begged him not to go, wanting to leave before another night

came, but he was convinced that they could resume their

normal lives if he helped stop the second wave of attack by

burning the bodies of those killed in the night before. Any

and all of the dead could reawaken and become killers. He

had left with the promise that he would work quickly and the

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dead would be burned before the day was over. Her

youngest, Jimmy, dominated her lap while Olivia and Alissa

leaned against her from both sides, their eyes wide with fear.

Their home had become a battlefield in which their parents

had fought to save them from friends and neighbors, and

worse yet, their older brother, Eric. He had fallen

mysteriously ill one morning and later, appeared to die in his

bed. Nightfall had come and seconds after he died, he had

attacked them with insanity in his eyes. Their father had

dragged the teenager out to the street to get him under

control only to find rampaging vampires had taken over the

city, killing at will.

Though they had started in the early morning hours, the

extrication of the dead from the families of the city was a

time consuming task. Corpses had to be dragged from the

clinging arms of grieving women and children and heaped in

the center of the city. The day dragged on and Jake began to

wonder if the dead put on weight after death.

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Fatigue took him several times and he had to take frequent

breaks to recuperate. His truck needed refills of gasoline

often, but that was no problem as gas suddenly was free for

the taking. Afternoon came and nearly all the dead had been

collected. The men began suffering from shock, having seen

so many corpses that had once been their friends and

neighbors ripped apart and nearly unrecognizable. The air

stank with decomposition and many of the homes made Jake

gag upon entry. Each house and business was a new

horrifying vision that could never be erased from his mind.

Finally, all the dead were gathered and it was time to set

them ablaze. The sun sank low on the western horizon and it

was realized that haste was necessary. Wood and tinder was

stacked around the heap and gasoline was splashed upon it.

Jake watched with ever-growing fear and anxiety as the sun

sank lower and lower and the sky began to darken. Torches

were lit and the fire was started. Flame crawled slowly up the

pile. Clothes caught fire, then flesh. The smell was

overpowering as black smoke rose in thick clouds from the

bodies. A corpse near the top began to twitch violently,

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alarming the men, but they stood their ground in suspense,

almost unable to breathe. More of the bodies began to move,

and suddenly the pile became an animated, twitching,

sizzling scene from a nightmare. The rebirth began before

the eyes of the men and Jake found himself paralyzed with

fear. The reborn vampires screamed in agony as they

realized that their melting flesh was dripping from their

bodies, blue and orange flame blackening them. Over the

smell of their burning flesh, however, they began to smell the

blood of the mortals present, and the bloodlust began. Jake

was freed from his paralysis and he turned and fled the

fireside, closely pursued by two flaming ghouls. His truck,

luckily, was parked nearby and he turned his feet toward it.

The short distance began to stretch before him like out of

some sort of distorted dream. Then suddenly, he reached

the driver’s side door and flung it open, climbing in, he

slammed it shut, snapping a blackened hand off onto his lap.

He sat for a moment, shocked, then threw it to the passenger

side floor. A huge bang attracted his attention to the hood of

the truck and he saw that one of the burning vampires had

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leapt upon it, its face only a couple feet from his own. Jake

watched in horror as it’s eyes exploded and it reared back

with one fist in an attempt to punch through the windshield.

He threw the truck into reverse and backed up, sending the

vampire tumbling from the hood. Driving forward to crunch

its bones beneath his tires, he got a view of what was going

on at the fire. Some of the monsters had put their bodies out

and were feeding on the limp men. Still others lay upon the

ground, the fire having consumed their entire bodies, leaving

smoking bones. Men lay burning on the pavement, their

throats torn out. The entire scene was just too much for Jake

to cope with, so he threw his truck into gear and squealed his

tires in the direction of his home and family.

The U.S. Military had moved into action much sooner than

the vampires anticipated. Their outposts had been bombed

with non-nuclear explosives by their aircraft. They feared

using nuclear or atomic bombs because the vampires existed

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on American soil. The threat of the undead armies was not

taken seriously enough to take such drastic action yet. The

Crows joined the masses of vampire armies gathered outside

all the military bases in the

country. It was known that they were there. Aircraft flew

overhead, sending bullets into their midst, but causing little

damage to their numbers. One sixth of the hordes dropped,

temporarily wounded or dead with head injury. They

advanced upon the bases, slaughtering troops in hand-to-

hand combat. The vampires had guns of their own, taken

from the towns they had wiped out. They almost forgot to

use them in their desire for carnage. The soldier’s bullets

destroyed more of them, but that mattered little to them in

their bloodlust. They had made a grievous error in engaging

the vampires on their level; they were unable to wipe them

out with more explosives because of the mingling of their

troops with those of the undead. Their well-trained discipline

was lost in the terror of engaging undead enemies. The

vampires had the upper hand in physical force plus modern

weaponry. Tanks roared into their midst, crushing some of

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them but still having little effect. A second wave of soldiers

rose from the barricaded lines. This time they were able to

drive the them back temporarily. The vampires responded

with increased excitement like wolves in a pen of cattle. As

the number of living soldiers decreased their commanders

decided to begin bombing again with non-nuclear missiles.

The vampires knew it was time to retreat almost

simultaneously. They transformed into beasts and flights of

black birds and scattered before the bombing could do any

real damage to their numbers. The battlefield became still

once more, covered with huge numbers of shredded and

dismembered bodies, most of them unrecognizable as being

human. Blood soaked into the earth and a great silence

descended, only interrupted by scavengers that came to pick

at the remains of the battle.

The Temple of Lilith lay in ruins, the charred bodies of a

few assassins lay amongst the destruction. Human soldiers

scoured the wreckage for any sign of life. A blackened

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vampire stirred briefly and was shot in the head by one of the

men. Considering their job complete, the soldiers climbed

into a waiting Jeep and were gone. A stealth bomber that

appeared before them had sent a missile into the temple,

destroying it completely.

The V-Council however had not been present when the blast

occurred.

A raven sat on the branch of a nearby tree and watched

the scene. Warbling softly to itself, it took flight to bring news

of the destruction of the Sacred Temple to the Council

members. No place was safe from the humans.

Reinforcements had arrived, and the battle resumed. This time the

vampires overwhelmed the exhausted human soldiers. They invaded the base,

killing officers and non-military personnel. Pilots scrambled for their planes,

but were overtaken. Vampires drank in a feeding frenzy, having not fed since

the preceding battle. Bodies littered the floors. They scented the air and

found all that hid from them. All propriety was forgotten in the need to drink.

Marilee and Jason hung close together, feeding off the same individuals at the

same time. Crystal smiled wryly to herself, “Share and share alike.” she

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thought. Lauren, as she had been in her previous life as a human, was a

formidable fighter. She had never been one to use female catfight techniques,

but truly damaging blows and calculated defense tactics. The battle was

exhilarating. She fed little, ignoring her hunger and concentrating on inflicting

as much damage as possible on the enemy. Bullets pierced her body and one

zinged through her blonde hair, grazing her skull. She rushed the soldier that

had made the near miss and struck his jaw with an uppercut that shattered his

teeth. As he went down she brought one knee to his chest and smashed the

center of his rib cage at the sternum. She prepared to rip out his neck but was

interrupted by the butt of a rifle slamming into her head from behind. She felt

an instant of pain, but was lucid again in a flash. She whirled on the man who

had struck her and with a swift low pivot, swept his legs from under him. He

fell, striking his head on the concrete floor and was knocked unconscious.

She decided to feed on this one. Rolling his head to the side, she sank her

teeth into the muscle in the side of his neck and began to drink. She could

feel her painful hunger fade slowly from her body as the life-giving liquid

poured down her throat. She was too enveloped in the pleasure of feeding to

notice that the soldier she had previously assaulted was not quite dead. He

struggled to his knees and crawled to her side, pressing the muzzle of a .45 to

the side of her head. He squeezed the trigger and blew away the back of her

skull. She collapsed on top of the soldier she had been feeding upon, then

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degraded to dust. Unable to withstand the pain in his chest any longer, the

man pressed the muzzle of the gun to his own head and squeezed the trigger

one last time.

Crystal lost Todd in the melee, but she was sure that he

was okay. When the siege was finally over, they burned the

entire base as the Council had instructed them. The humans

must not be able to retake an operative base, and they knew

nothing of the procedures of controlling their equipment, so it

was worthless to them. The vampires returned to their

encampment around midnight, feeling rejuvenated by their

contact with human blood. As the others rested Crystal

began to search the group for her friends. She found Todd

and they looked together. After a time they found the twins,

Marilee and Jason. Shane had also survived, having been

promoted to the small group of vampires that were in the

process of planning the next battle. Lauren was nowhere to

be found, however. They had to assume the worst; the

probability of her death was high, as they had lost many in

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the taking of the base. Todd and Crystal stood together for a

moment, and he held her as she cried for her sister’s death,

the victory forgotten for the moment. Todd smoothed her

black hair back from her eyes and brushed away a tear that

was running down her nose.

“This is war,” He spoke, looking into her eyes, ”we were

bound to lose someone.”

The Council members traveled individually to the

separate larger masses of the vampiric armies, steps needed

to be taken before circumstances got too out of hand. The

domination of America was almost complete, but the

possibilities of catastrophic events were foreseen. The

slaughter would have to be stayed for the time being, before

the numbers of vampires grew too large and they would

begin to kill each other for human blood, which had grown

more precious with each coming week. Steps had to be taken

to insure survival.

Weakened by loss of blood, survivors of the siege of Los

Angeles lay exhausted in their prison. Many prisoners

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lingered near death, and the vampires were still hungry.

Crystal stood outside one of the cages and gazed at the

humans, the only way to save many of them was to give

them the dark gift, but the Council’s Advisor had instructed

the lesser vampires not to create any more reborns. Already

fights were breaking out over whoms turn it was to feed and

dissatisfaction filled the atmosphere of the camp. Crystal

could not help but pity the humans, she remembered what it

was like to be one and knew that they must be in pain from

the numerous bleeding bites that covered their bodies. One

caught her eye and threw a stone weakly in her direction,

cursing her for her agony. Crystal turned away, unable to

bear the sight anymore. She had refused to feed, along with

some of those that were more sensitive to the plight of the

humans. It was daylight and Crystal knew that she must

rest, but paranoia of the other vampires had taken hold of

her. She did not know if she would awaken again. Crystal

watched over the sleep of her friends, they had rejoined

again following the loss of Lauren. They slept restlessly inside

a once fine

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home in the city of Los Angeles. The floor was now soaked in

places with drying blood, and the windows were broken. The

electricity was off and the heat of the day was bothersome to

their cool blood. The Crows had cleared out the bodies that

morning, which had been taken away in a pickup to a mass

grave originally meant for the wrongly

accused mortals that had been killed by their families and

friends, having been mistaken for vampires. Crystal stood in

a doorway watching Todd sleep for a moment, then she

returned to her post in the living room, gazing at the street

through a window, intending to let the others sleep until

dark.

Waiting there, her eyes hurting from the sunlight, she

began to remember their validation. She smiled to herself,

recalling the foolish ways she had known. Dressing all in

black, paying money to purchase false fangs and contact

lenses. At one time she regularly wore white face makeup to

become what she had always wished to be. The romance and

intrigue of the charismatic vampire had her in it’s spell, but

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she did not truly believe that such beings existed. All of the

crows were drawn to each other in a common desire; they

wanted to be the undead, the stalkers of the night, and the

drinkers of living blood. They had shunned normalcy and the

commonplace ways of society. They had even gone so far as

to cut each other with razor blades for a taste of blood. Then

she came. It was as if she knew the desire in their souls. They

had seen stories in the media about her, but at the time they

thought it was all just hype about an escaped serial killer. At

first they were wary of her, but her dark beauty and strength

intrigued them. Her hypnotic eyes drained away their fear

and they welcomed her into their world. They hid her in an

abandoned house near their homes and visited her often,

sometimes alone, other times in groups. They were soon

aware that she was the real thing and that made the

attraction all the stronger. The crows arranged an all-night

inquiry with her, sneaking from their parent’s homes in the

middle of the night. She told them of her encounter with

Vincent, who transformed her. She had had no choice but to

kill again and again to slake her undying thirst. Mentally, she

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posed a question to each of them, would they join her in her

power or leave her in peace. She vowed that she would not

kill them, as they were the only kindness she had known in

years. They agreed with her, communicating their own

desire for power in their silence.

Then, over the next few days, they had come to her, on by

one, and she changed their lives forever. They helped each

other through the bloodlust of their rebirth, bringing to each

reborn a victim, disposing of the bodies after the initial

feeding. Rhiannon had told them that the myths of being

destroyed by crosses, holy water, and sunlight were false,

the fables of a misinformed society. They felt great

weakness in the sun, but were able to go about their lives as

usual. Rhiannon then disappeared, and behind her came

another, a tall blonde man with the eyes of a wolf, Vincent.

He had been following her, and merely wanted to know if she

had come their way. He sensed that they knew her. He went

on his way, leaving them with the warning that there would

be others, and to watch for them.

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He was right, two assassins of something he had called the

Council found and took them prisoner. They vanished from

their homes without a trace and were taken to an abandoned

church that the assassins called the Temple of Lilith. The V-

Council was stern, unwavering characters, obviously of great

age. They were interrogated about Rhiannon, given a set of

rules to live by and warned that, if they did not comply with

these rules, they would be destroyed. The Crows were then

released.

The saga of Rhiannon continued, highly publicized by

the media. She was eventually trapped and killed by the

police. The tall blonde vampire was destroyed with her, being

portrayed as her lover. The rest was history. Night finally

came. The others awakened, interrupting Crystal’s musings.

They knew that they must hunt for fresh blood, the human

prisoners being so close to death that even the loss of a pint

of blood would end their usefulness to the vampires. The

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crows set out to scour the night, knowing that there must be

more out there.

Mike and Randall Schmidt hung closely outside the

enclosure that held the humans eyeing the black-cloaked

guard that stood by its doorway. They were hungry, and the

Council-appointed had imposed an iron will to only let a few

pass into the pen. They were obviously not among the few.

They knew he could read their minds if they stayed within a

20 foot radius of him, so they mutually agreed to back off for

a while. The guard scowled at them, knowing that something

was up, but held his ground.

Randy trudged across a nearby street with Mike

following a short distance behind. The resemblance between

the two made it obvious that they were brothers, sharing the

same long dark hair and glowering green eyes. They entered

an alleyway and Randy lit a cigarette, a habit left over from

his human years. Leaning against a wall, his eyes flashed red

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in the darkness. Mike joined him and they glanced around,

making sure they were alone.

“We have a right to feed too.” Mike muttered, clenching and

unclenching his right hand nervously, digging the long nails

into the palm. “Why aren’t we allowed to go in?”

Randy shifted from his right to his left boot and took a long

drag off the cigarette. Mike hated the way his brother made

these long pauses before answering his questions, but waited

patiently, trying to relax his muscles.

“We have to take turns, and ours isn’t until daylight. These

damn rules came straight from the top. It’s supposed to help

keep order or some shit like that.”

Mike gazed back across the street, his eyes glinting like his

brother’s, “There is only one guard, we could take him.”

“Just what I was thinking,” Randy smiled wickedly, “If we take

him down we could finish off one each before anyone can

stop us.”

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The stern guard watched the two vampires he had

observed earlier approach warily, searching their minds for

their motives. They had thrown up a crude wall around their

thoughts, but he could guess pretty well what they were

planning. He unsnapped the strap from his shoulder

holstered .45 and waited for them to make the first move.

They had no guns, but because there were two of them and

they nearly matched him in size and weight, they were a

force to be reckoned with. They were ready to fight for a

taste of the prisoners, carrying long knives they had stolen.

The guard did not realize that his immortality was seconds

from ending.

“Last chance, big guy. What do you say, let us in and you can

walk away from here.” Randy thumbed the edge of his blade,

feeling adrenaline already rushing through his body.

“I have my orders, you will wait until morning.”

Randy moved quickly, but the guard was quicker. He drew

the .45 and fired at the blur of movement the smaller

vampire had become. Mike leapt upon him with the agility of

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a cat, yanking his arm upward and backward. Tendon ripped

from bone and the guard screamed. Randy slashed at his

throat, opening a ragged cut from collarbone to ear. The

guard went down, black blood spurting from his neck. They

turned their attention upon the prisoners, who, witnessing

the entire melee, had retreated to the far side of the pen.

Opening the gate, they quickly chose their prey. A young

woman saw one of the vampires advancing on her and tried

to climb the fencing, only to be dragged to the ground by the

monster, who held her arms over her head and sank his

teeth into her underarm. Mike slammed another woman into

the mesh and bit into the flesh of her neck. By now more

vampires had realized that the guard was gone and swarmed

into the pen, fighting over the hapless humans.

A half moon loomed overhead, providing the only light.

The crows did not necessarily need the illumination, but

something about moonlight energized them. The desert

stretched out before them, dotted here and there by

sagebrush. After a time they spotted a small gas station and

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convenience store, it’s windows broken and two wrecked cars

occupied its parking lot. Hoping to find fresh blood, they

decided to check it out. Scenting the air, they caught a whiff

of living flesh. Crystal and Todd approached a car and found

it to only be occupied with two corpses, a man and a woman,

their throats torn out and their faces distorted with their final

screams. The other car was empty. Turning to the building,

the crows followed the fragrance of life through a broken

window after finding the doors locked. The floor was littered

with broken bottles from the refrigeration units and another

body lay across the counter, it’s head almost ripped from its

neck with a gaping wound. The scent of life came from a

closed door marked with a sign that said “Employees Only”.

They approached the door cautiously; knowing that whoever

was in there was likely to be armed. Shane motioned for the

rest to hold back and kicked the door down. They entered

the room in time to see two teenagers break out the window

above a large desk. Scrambling to climb out, one cut her arm

on the jagged glass. Marilee was across the room in a flash

and seized the injured female, throwing her to the floor. Todd

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and Crystal were on the male in a millisecond, dragging him

from the window. Blood sprayed from the girl’s underarm as

Marilee sank her teeth into the big vein located there,

splattering Jason, who joined his twin in feeding. As the girl’s

screams got weaker Todd and Crystal followed Jason and

Marilee’s example on the boy. Shane hung back, stifling his

hunger, his eyes glowing red in the darkness. Soon the

teenagers were dead, and they were only partially sated.

The Crows exited the building and found themselves

facing another small group of male vampires with shaved

heads. One leveled a crossbow at them and asked if they had

fed.

“There were only two alive inside. The others were already

dead.” Crystal replied. “You will have to look somewhere

else.”

The one with the crossbow motioned to the others and the

Crows were quickly surrounded, their eyes glinted in the

darkness. They were ready to fight.

“Looks like we have some competition to eliminate.”

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Strong arms seized Crystal and she was tossed against the

wall. The offender lunged at her with a large knife, but was

knocked from his feet by Todd, who sent him tumbling into a

broken glass window. Shards pierced his body in several

places. The leader shot an arrow into Shane’s stomach and

hurriedly attempted to reload the weapon. His temporary

distraction proved fatal as Shane pulled the arrow from his

abdomen and, pinning the other vampire, shoved it into his

temple. Turning, Crystal spotted several of the others forcing

Marilee to the ground and stabbing her repeatedly in the

chest. She leapt upon one of them and snapped his head

around backward. He fell back, still alive, but extremely

disoriented by the new perspective. Marilee screamed and

was still, her struggling ceased. The Crows attacked the

others as one; using their teeth and their own weapons, rage

at Marilee’s death berserking them. Soon they were all

smoking corpses, decaying instantly as death took them. The

Crow’s lacerations healed in seconds, but their hearts were

heavy with this new tragedy. Jason sat beside his sister’s

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body, watching in horror as she was reduced to bones before

his eyes.

The sun rose with golden waves of clouds that filled the

sky, the beauty of it was distracting from the new problem

they were faced with, but only temporarily. The new threat

from their own kind was troubling; as was the knowledge that

prey was reduced to almost nil. Jason lagged behind; silent

with emptiness in his heart he had never known before.

The Crows silently agreed not to go back to the

encampment. The competition for prey would be the same as

they had experienced at the gas station. They did not wish to

fight their own kind, the same vampires they had fought side

by side with in their struggle against the human threat. Now

they had a new objective, bring the news of the new

problems to the council. The Crows knew that they would

know what to do.

A small band of dark-cloaked figures walked along the

highway, ignoring the rising sun. Serene led the way, as was

customary when the council traveled. There had been no

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word for days concerning the state of the vampiric

population, but Minx had been scrying as she walked.

Holding the cobalt crystal sphere in her hands, she gazed

into its depths, a troubled expression on her face. The other

ancients knew better than to press her for a description

of the visions she was receiving until she was ready to inform

them herself; to interrupt would result in the visions stopping

and a complete memory loss. The sorcerer walked beside

her, one hand on her shoulder to guide her footsteps.

Josephala had done work to make their small group invisible

to the mortals; they could only be seen by other vampires.

Minx lifted her gaze from the sphere and ceased walking.

Josephala noticed this and called

for the other members of the council to stop also. Minx’s

large liquid blue eyes held the others in thrall.

“The problems we foresaw are coming to be, the fighters are

turning on each other in fatal combat.”

Serene stood silently for a moment while the other ancients

awaited her response. After a few moments she spoke.

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“Clive, gather your assassins. I have new orders for them.”

The air shimmered around the tall warlord and in his place

hovered a black hawk. With strong wing beats he took to the

air and soared upward, riding warm air currents until he was

high in the wind. Turning, he flew to the east. The other

ancients watched him disappear over the mountaintops, then

resumed their course.

The Crows were resting under a freeway overpass when

a large black hawk fluttered to rest atop a nearby tree. Their

senses told us that this was no ordinary bird, this was a

vampire. Shane rose and pulled from his belt a large dagger

that he had taken off one of the vampires that had attacked

them. The hawk hopped to the ground and stretched

its wings out from its body. A tall, dark vampire rose from it,

morphing slowly as he regarded us with stern eyes. The

crows recognized one of the V-council members immediately

and Shane lowered the dagger.

“Why are you hostile?” Clive spoke angrily, shaking the last

of the feathers from his arms, which disappeared into his

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flesh. A robe appeared around his muscular body and he

lowered the hood.

“We were attacked by other gifted ones a few days ago,

warlord. Forgive us, we did not recognize you.” Crystal spoke.

“We lost one of our own.”

The warlord’s expression softened. He glanced around. “Are

those that attacked you nearby?”

“No, we had to kill them to defend ourselves.”

“You killed other Vampires?”

“We had no choice.”

His eyes studied them carefully, searching their minds for

signs of falsehood. Satisfied with the answer they gave him,

he motioned them to come closer.

“You will come with me to Utah. The council is awaiting my

return. We will decide what to do with you when we arrive.”

Clive and the assassins arrived at a huge, derelict

building in Provo two days after the council arrived. The

remainder of the Crows were taken to the basement to wait

for the council to decide their fate. Their enhanced hearing

capabilities picked up quiet voices in the chambers above

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their heads, and occasionally the deep, strong voice of

Serene. The Crows nervously shuffled about in the graffiti

decorated classroom that was once used to teach young

Mormon missionaries. They knew that among the other rules

that had been melded into their minds by the Council, the

law against killing their own kind surely brought death to

those that broke it. Only assassins of the council had the

right to judge and exterminate Vampires, and those killed

were only terminated for the greater good of the population.

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The Shadow of Rhiannon

Chapter 8

A somber-faced servant appeared in the doorway and

motioned for them to follow him. He led them up a flight of

stairs and down a hallway to a set of double doors. They

walked through a glassed-in walkway covered with ivy and

up another flight of stairs. Presently they arrived at another

set of double doors that swung open of their own accord.

Serene and her council sat at a long table in the center of

what once was a cafeteria. Minx, the sorceress held up a

hand and a strong, unseen force pushed the Crows to their

knees before the table. Serene’s willful voice echoed

through the room.

“By law of the V-Council, the punishment for killing your own

kind is death, but these are extraordinary circumstances. The

need for effective enforcement in the current situation

dictates that we find a use for you. It is our will and intent to

initiate you into our service as assassins for the greater good.

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If you wish to argue this judgment you have the chance now

to plead your case.”

The ageless eyes of the Council members studied them for a

time. They could feel them searching their minds for any

contradiction to their judgment.

“You have questions,” Clive spoke “feel free to ask them

now.”

“What is the initiation?” Todd queried.

“It is better that you do not know that at this time.”

A sudden, unsettled feeling fell upon the Crows, and the

Council exchanged thoughts barely discernable to them.

Josephala gestured with one hand and Jason was abruptly

lifted into the air, his boots a full two feet from the floor.

Serene stood; her ageless face wore a stern expression.

“You do not wish to serve us, the loss of your sister has

confused you. This confusion will be erased, allow it, or we

will have to terminate you.”

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Jason was returned to the floor and the force was lifted from

them, allowing the Crows to stand up again. Two armed

assassins led them from the room.

The Crows reprogramming began immediately, the

sorceress and sorcerer of the council sat before them, their

thoughts connected with the young vampires’ own. Their

minds were filled with their booming voices, demanding the

strictest loyalty from them. They were strong for a time,

resisting what they believed to be utterly wrong. But the

clarity of their mission soon overcame feelings of doubt and

resentment. The Crows began to see themselves not as a

small circle of friends that fought the world, alive and undead

alike, but as a part of a higher consciousness, an ancient

tradition of honor and discipline. The beauty of their world

that had been lost to them when the war began re-emerged

and they felt a kind of peace and purpose. They had

underestimated Jason, however. His anger made him

completely uncontrollable to any of their methods. After two

days of resistance and struggle, they finally confined him to a

cell that was only visited by the sorcerer, Josephala. The

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intensity of the reprogramming was painful to Jason, and his

screams echoed through the building. The Crows did not like

the treatment he received, but were helpless to aid him, for

they knew that they would be terminated. The way they had

been taught was the right way, and they could only hope he

would not resist for much longer.

The chamber of assassins, lit only by flame light of numerous

kerosene lanterns and torches mounted on the brick walls,

was empty save for three members. One of which the crows

recognized as Keokuk, one of the vampires that brought

them in when they had been authenticated. His stony

features only showed a quick flash of recognition as he

acknowledged their presence. Jason did not appear with

them, they could only speculate of his fate. A number of

firearms lay upon the long table and large ancient books lay

open upon stands around the room. As Crystal studied the

books, one of the closed ones flipped open and the pages

turned seemingly of their own accord. She had seen enough

magic used in these quarters of the council that this did not

impress her greatly; She moved her attention from the books

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and studied the rest of the room. The walls were decorated

with all manner of weapons, ranging from Scottish

broadswords to large hefty crossbows, obviously gathered

over centuries of conflict with those who opposed the V-

Council.

Keokuk stood and addressed them solemnly, his eyes

mirroring the flickering light. “You have been designated as

assassins of the V-Council, this is your only designation. To

leave the Council is to sign your own death warrant. I suggest

you accept this fully and never stray from your purpose. Do

you accept your duty?

The Crows agreed with certainty and he motioned for them

to sit.

“You will be granted your freedom under the terms you have

learned. This freedom is limited to your imagination in

acquiring your targets and carrying out your duty as the

Council decrees it.”

He motioned to the books surrounding them and continued.

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“There is more knowledge in these books than one of you

can learn in time to use them, but they are always here for

your reference, yours anywhere you are located in the world,

observe.”

Keokuk closed his eyes and the pages of an open volume

began to silently flutter until it reached a point near the

center of the text. He raised a hand and a brilliant orb

appeared n the center of the room, it formed into a window

and images appeared inside it. The crows realized that they

were looking into another place. The crescent moon hung

over sagebrush covered mountains. The landscape began to

shift and turn and began to speed by at an incredible

velocity. This continued for a few seconds, then the

movement stopped and like a telescope, the window zoomed

in on some frenzied activity. They were suddenly watching a

gruesome feeding frenzy of a group of vampires on a family

in a station wagon. The mother and father and an older

woman were being dragged through broken windows, tearing

their clothing and slicing through their flesh. Faint screams

issued from inside the vehicle as the adults were held down

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and the attackers sank teeth into numerous parts of their

bodies. A car door was flung open on the opposite side of the

vehicle and three children fled into the night, ignored for the

time being by the feeding vampires. Crystal’s stomach

turned at the pitiful sight, but she noticed that she was now

feeling a new coldness in her observation of the situation.

She realized that she was only interested in seeing if the

vampires were violating the Council’s laws.

The window closed and Keokuk lowered his hand. “To

access these books, you need only to lift your hand, think of

your name, and imagine what you need help with. What you

have just witnessed was a spell accessed from the book you

observed. I was able to read from it the spell that allowed us

to see a certain band of vampires that we have been

watching for some time now. Your first assignment will be to

eliminate these vampires; they freely kill their own kind

every time they encounter them. They will be wary of

assassins, so take caution.”

He turned his attention the weapons heaped upon the table.”

You are allowed to take any three weapons from this place for

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use in your mission, and any ammunition that is available

that you can carry, choose wisely, for you will only be able to

use whatever you can find out there once they are spent."

The supply of available weapons was limited, having been

mostly firearms seized from the humans in the war and also

having been picked over by assassins currently sent on

missions before the crows had arrived. They chose an array

of 9mm pistols with extra clips, a Remington Model 700

Sendero Sniper Rifle with a precision telescope, a bi-pod with

a swivel mount, and a silencer. Crystal had always found

knives to be fascinating, so she found a large deadly looking

Bowie with large, curved spikes on the blade. Shane and Todd

chose knives also, wisely deciding to carry close combat

weapons. The crows were given a day to memorize the

indexes of the books and sent back out into the post-mortem

world America had become.

Motorcycles roared into the seemingly deserted town of

Skull Valley. The towns of Bagdad, Hillside, and Kirkland had

been utterly deserted. Since they had found a single station

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wagon with a small family group of humans inside, they had

only been able to feed upon a couple of stray dogs and a

thin, wandering horse. They longed thirstily for human blood

with its unique, exquisite flavor. The scent on the breeze

here told them that at least fifty humans were here, likely

scavengers. The night air in Arizona was still hot, this being

the end of August, and this made the gang irritable. Some

fights had broken out and two members had been killed, but

it didn’t matter to the others. Their alliance was shaky to say

the least, and most believed that the fewer there were in the

gang, the better were their chances of getting ample

sustenance. The living scent grew stronger and soon they

turned off their engines, silently coasting down the main

street. They honed in on a hotel and quickly surrounded it.

Two of them transformed into black-skinned, demon-like

creatures, and quickly scaled the side of the building as if

gravity did not exist. Finding a broken window, they slipped

inside.

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The humans had decided that they would be safer if

they confined themselves to one building. The beds in this

place were comfortable in a time when comfort was of short

supply. The fifty-four people were divided into nine groups of

six people for the two bottom floors of the hotel. Twenty-four

people slept in the bedrooms of the second story, and

twenty-four slept in the four bedrooms on the bottom floor.

One group of six men stayed in the lobby, one of each

keeping a watchful eye through the front window in shifts. A

tired-looking man gazed through the still-intact glass and

shifted wearily to glance at his watch. Spotting a slight

movement in the darkness, he leaned forward and peered

harder. Deciding it was only a stray animal, he relaxed and

sat back on the sofa, his eyelids getting heavy with

exhaustion. Slowly they closed and his head rolled forward

on his chest. A scream from upstairs broke the silence of the

night, awakening everyone. A young girl fought an obscene

creature as it pierced her flesh with long fingernails and

ripped out the side of her neck. Blood gouted, soaking an

older woman who had been lying beside the girl. A young

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boy that had been lying on the floor vaulted over the bed and

plunged a wooden stake through its back; narrowly missing

it’s heart. The creature dropped the girl and lunged at him,

taking him to the floor with it. Two women rushed into the

room and began stabbing it in the back with long daggers. It

immediately transformed into human-like form and the flesh

fell from the bones, the corpse turning to dust within

seconds. A shocked silence descended and the girl began to

weep in terror as blood poured from her neck. Her slightly

lacerated brother tore off his T-shirt and wrapped it around

her neck, temporarily stanching the blood flow.

Shouts erupted from another room and the sounds of a

battle drew their attention. Small children were herded into

closets while the strong hurried to the source of the noise.

Soon the adults abandoned the ground floor and before they

all knew what was happening, the windows in the ground

floor were breaking and the vampires were inside the hotel.

The strategy of the vampires became apparent to the

humans all too late. Swiftly, some attacked the children in

the closets at the ground floor while others moved upstairs.

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The humans fought valiantly against their attackers, causing

temporary injury and in a few cases, death. The silence of

the night was shattered however, by the shrieks of the

doomed people as they were slaughtered in a feeding frenzy.

Daylight came and the vampires slept among the

corpses of their kills. Shane had mastered the seeing

window and the Crows had watched the whole massacre

while they traveled. Though their methods disgusted her,

Crystal had to marvel at their ability to come up with an

instant strategy and carry it through to its triumph. The

whole scene made her very thirsty, but they needed to close

the distance between themselves and the gang of killers

they had been sent after. Crystal wished that they could just

open a door with the magic from the books and be within

killing range so they could finish them off, but no such spell

existed. They had procured a Ford truck for transportation,

having found an undisturbed but vacated car dealership in

Provo.

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Out of their original six, they were only three now.

Shane, Todd and Crystal shared a sentiment silently, an

emptiness without their siblings and friends. Crystal

supposed they should have been angry with the Council

keeping Jason, but a strange new mental block prevented

any hostility toward them. The remainder of the Crows had

found an empty apartment complex and a suitable

apartment to sleep in during the day. The truck was locked

up outside and they felt fairly safe, so they posted no guard.

The assault on his senses had been almost unbearable,

and Jason decided not to fight anymore. He sat silently in

the makeshift cell and stared blankly ahead. His thoughts too

blurred to make any sense. Josephala had finally left him to

recuperate from three straight hours of attempted

programming. Jason knew that his friends had left him, under

what circumstances he was unsure. Minx would join

Josephala in the next and Jason already dreaded the doubled

onslaught.

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Randy awakened to find one of the other members of

the gang reaching into his coat. He grasped the hand and

snapped it backward while striking the other across the

bridge of his nose. The other vampire fell back moaning and

clutching at his hand.

Randy stood up quickly and kicked the other vampire in the

head with his steel-toed boot, crunching it through his

temple. The body convulsed several times and then

combusted quickly, leaving smoking bones. A fleeting

thought alarmed Randy to the point of panic and he quickly

searched for Mike. Finding his brother lying nearby, an arm

draped over a stiffening corpse of one of the victims of the

preceding night, he relaxed and sat upon a nearby bed,

holding his head in both hands. His mind reeled from the

rude awakening and he stood and kicked the skull of the

vampire across the room. He had been reaching for Randy’s

knife, probably planning to take the leadership of the gang.

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Jason finally succumbed to the brain washing tactics of

the Council, at least he was finally able to make them believe

so. He kneeled alone before them, eyes downcast, in the

temple room that had once been a seminary room for the

young Mormon missionaries. His mental ability had

improved in his solitude and he filled his mind with

compliance.

“You are strong”, Serene said, striding around him, then

stopping and lifting his chin so he was forced to look into her

beautiful ageless face. I have found more strength in you

than my own master of assassins. For you I have plans.”

She turned to the others and motioned with a long slender

hand. “You may leave us, I am in no danger.”

The others slowly filed out of the room and closed the carved

doors behind them. Serene removed the black velvet hood

from her head, revealing long red hair with white streaks

running through the temples. She untied the golden cords

that bound the robe at her waist, and slowly pulled the fold of

the robe back to reveal a perfect, smooth body with ample

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breasts. Jason caught his breath and gazed at her for a

moment, then remembered that he was to be submissive

and lowered his eyes once again.

“Do you find me beautiful?” Serene asked “Does a newly

reborn find the oldest vampire on this planet to be exciting?”

“Yes, my lady, very much so.”

“Then lift your eyes.”

He looked again, and saw that she had removed her robe

entirely, large batlike wings rose slowly from her shoulders,

rustling as she spread them. Her eyes began to glow red.”

“I am known throughout history as Lilith, the first Nosferatu.

Time has no meaning to me. I am forever death, the reaper

of mortal and immortal beings.” She circled him once again,

and he truly felt fear in his heart for the first time since his

rebirth. She bent down and whispered in his ear from behind.

“Rise to your feet.”

He unsteadily rose and she wrapped her demonic wings

around him. He felt an intense cold feeling deep in his bones

from her touch, like she was made from ice, but this was

soon replaced by a growing heat. He began to realize that his

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tattered clothing was burning and he struggled, but she

wrapped her wings tighter, not allowing him to move. “Be

still!” She hissed.

His mind reeled and he began to see a swirling red light

enveloping the two of them. Keeping her wings around him,

she moved, facing him now. His clothing had burned away,

but he was uninjured, the heat subsided and he realized that

he was becoming very sexually excited against his will.

“You are mine, eternally.” She whispered in his ear. Her body

was pressed tightly against his own. She nipped at his neck

and traced her tongue along his jaw line and then met his

lips with her own. He reacted naturally, his hands roaming

over her body at the same time. He could feel the injuries

and weariness caused by his ordeal heal and fade; replaced

with a surge of power he had never felt before.

Serene, pulled him down to the floor with her and deftly

flipped him onto his back. She clamped her teeth into his

jugular and slid him into herself at the same time. He briefly

remembered when Rhiannon had transformed him; there had

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been nothing sexual about it. She had only drained him to

the point of death then fed him from her own arm. The

memory was only instantaneous in the incredible sensations

that were currently coursing through his body. Serene was

not draining him. She was feeding him. The slow, graceful

movement of her body filled him with pleasure and his

breath caught in his throat as he felt intense energy building

inside him. Visions from other minds filled his own, becoming

a part of him. He opened his eyes and found himself staring

directly into hers, glowing with a brilliant red light. She

arched her back and hissed like a cat. Her wings extended to

their full width and Jason began to wonder if he had just had

sex with a demon.

She finally withdrew and stood over him, folding her wings

behind her back. She extended a hand for him to rise. He

knew he was something different now, something more,

either blessed or cursed eternally by the creature before him.

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She retreated to a narrow doorway and left him

standing naked in the room. His mind reeled from the influx

of visions he had experienced and the opening of a doorway

into his brain he was never aware of. He looked around and

spotted a black robe not unlike Serene’s. He quickly donned

it and tied the golden belt around his waist.

A young vampire appeared and motioned to him with

lowered eyes.

“Follow me, if it pleases your lordship.”

Confused by the young vampires new attitude toward him,

he followed closely behind and was led to another darkened

room to join the Council members. He flinched at voices in

his mind, but they were gentle, asking him to join them. An

empty chair awaited him and he sat. Looking around the

room, he noticed that very few of those present met his eyes.

Only the true Ancients looked upon him, but with a new

respect. They knew what had

transpired between himself and Serene.

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The remainder of the Crows knew better than to engage

the gang of vampires during the day. They were only three.

They judged the renegades to number at least ten. On the

other hand, the Crows had firearms and the renegades were

still asleep, having gorged themselves with human blood the

night before. The decision was not an easy one, and they had

to decide quickly. A day assault would be completely

unexpected, so the Crows donned black overcoats with hoods

and gloves to protect their pale skin from the sun. The town

of Skull Valley was just outside their encampment, so they

walked instead of driving the vehicle. Following the scent of

spilled blood eventually led them to the hotel. They sensed a

small amount of wakefulness among the vampires inside, but

decided to engage them anyway.

The windows were broken already and the Crows

climbed in from three sides of the building. The floors were

thick with drying blood and corpses littered every corner.

Some had been heaped in the foyer, torn apart to the point

where they could not have come back even with a feeding of

vampire’s blood. Shane motioned the others to follow and

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crept up the stairway. They could smell the sleeping

vampires on the second floor.

Halfway up a vampire appeared at the top of the steps.

Crystal pulled the 9mm out of her pocket and blasted a bullet

through its skull. Its death was by explosion and she ducked

to avoid flying body parts. The others upstairs began to

awaken and she knew they had to move quickly. Shane

rushed up the steps past Crystal, and Todd pushed her

behind him, using himself as her shield. They reached the

second floor to find the vampires groggily awakening.

The smell of death was sickening. Shane unloaded a clip of

an AK-47 into three of the rousing creatures, causing their

destruction immediately.

“What is this?” A male voice asked to our right “An attack by

our own kind in the day?” In a flash the crows were disarmed

of the firearms in their hands by a scruffy looking vampire.

“Looks like we have a bounty hunter problem here.”

Another one rose from behind a bed and Crystal noted a

strong similarity between the two. They advanced on them

slowly.

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Crystal felt a familiar surge of power that started from her

chest and traveled down her arms. She raised her hands

forward and concentrated. Fire flew from her fingertips,

engulfing the room and the two others dove for cover.

Crystal grabbed Todd and Shane followed as they sped back

down the stairway and out the front doorway. They stood

and watched as Crystal’s flame consumed the entire

building.

Randy and Mike fought their way through the screaming,

flaming remainder of their gang and dove through an open

window, rolling as they hit the ground. The sunlight was

unbearable, and they fled for an empty house that stood

nearby.

The Crows saw no one escape the blaze. Walking back

to the apartments seemed like an impossible venture and

Crystal was terribly weakened by what she had just done.

She nearly collapsed on the street and Todd lifted her into his

arms.

“We can’t make it, we will have to go into one of these other

buildings for the day.”

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Shane agreed and Crystal was carried into an abandoned

furniture store. Todd laid her comfortably upon a mattress

and encircling her in his arms, laid his head upon her breast,

instantly sleep. Shane sat in the storefront, watching the

hotel burn. Soon, his eyes closed too.

Jason was to be the new master of assassins, much to Clive’s

anger, but he held his tongue. Serene had made the choice,

and something had transpired between the two that he

would never understand. Serene had never paid him such

attentions, and now he was only another of the council’s

assassins, part of the leadership, but reduced in rank all the

same. The vampire that had once been a captive was now

taking his place and he vowed he would regain it, but time

and patience was all he had. He entered his bedchamber and

consulted his orb. A blur of images sped through it and he

concentrated on his query. The images slowed and he soon

was able to watch Serene and Jason’s encounter. He gasped

at the sudden appearance of Serene’s wings and then

watched, agape, at the event that transpired between Jason

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and what he now knew to be Lilith herself. Study from the

past was remembered.

Lilith was the original Nosferatu, the first wife of Adam,

tossed into the bowels of hell from the Garden of Eden to

become the Queen of the Succubus demons, a legion of

female blood drinkers that took mortal men in the night and

started vampirism on this planet. Finally, his questions that

he had carried with him for centuries were answered. She

had given something to Jason, something he could not yet

comprehend.

Jake and his family had finally fled Jackson Hole,

Wyoming, and drove into a deeply forested area to escape

any more possible attack. The three wide-eyed children,

Olivia, Alissa, and Jimmy had finally fallen asleep, covered

with blankets by their mother.

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Karen felt an overwhelming need to cling onto Jake, to feel

safe in his arms, but knew better than to disturb him while he

was driving at night. She pushed the feeling down as far as

she could and fought the need to fall asleep. Jimmy stirred;

crying in his sleep and Karen stroked his forehead, singing a

gentle song to him until he was still again. The children had

been through so much and the pickup stank of burned flesh.

Jake pulled into a clearing and opened the driver’s side

door. Karen followed, and they pulled a large folded tent from

the bed of the pickup. They quickly set it up and Karen

roused the children and got them on their feet.

Olivia rubbed her eyes and asked if they were going

camping.

“Yes, honey, we are going on vacation for a while.”

Blankets were spread on the floor of the tent and the children

crawled into it and fell fast asleep once more. They were still

in shock and sleep was a natural reaction to such.

Karen zipped up the doorway to the tent and turned to her

husband.

“Do we dare start a fire?”

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“Not yet, wait until daylight”

Karen and Jake huddled together in a sleeping bag outside

the tent and Karen finally got the comfort she needed,

though Jakes thoughts seemed far away. She stroked his

back under his shirt, relaxing him as best as she could.

“You want me to fall asleep, babe?”

“No, you just seem tense.”

They fell silent again and watched the moon travel across the

sky. Jake felt like jumping at every sound the forest made,

but he didn’t want to upset Karen.

Finally the sun rose and the children came out of the

tent, awakened by the need to eat. Jake built a fire and

pulled a large cooler from the pickup. He had raided a

grocery store along the way and had the chest loaded with

food and soda. He also had a large box with various canned

goods. He planned to stay alive with his family as long as

possible on their “vacation”.

Shane, Todd and Crystal felt the hunger coming on

again, they had not fed for days. In the darkness they left the

195
furniture store only to find the scent of other vampires still in

the air. This disturbed them, but they knew only their hunger

and had to find sustenance as soon as possible. They hurried

back to the apartment complex where

their vehicle was waiting. They climbed into it and headed

away from the town, knowing that their mission was

incomplete but needing to feed.

There was nothing along the paved road that they could

see so they headed off road. They knew that ranchers had

cattle roaming the area, it was a poor substitute for what

they needed, but it was better than nothing.

Soon they scented the rank odor of cattle and left the

dirt trail they had been following. They spotted a small ranch

house and a field of grazing cattle. They were healthy and

better yet, inside a fence.

They shape shifted into wolves and advanced upon the

panicking cattle. Crystal leapt upon a calf and sank her teeth

into its belly, the splash of blood soaking her fur, drinking

everything she could. The rest of them tried to trample the

fence, only tangling their legs in the barbed wire. Todd and

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Shane followed suit, ripping apart every cow they could

reach.

A bullet whizzed by Crystal’s head and she realized that

there was a human presence. A man stood at the edge of the

field, a rifle aimed at them. Shane vanished without a trace

and Crystal saw the man go down as if a terrific force hit him.

As he fought Shane reappeared, struggling with him. The rifle

flew from the man’s grasp and he attempted to crawl to

retrieve it, but Shane jumped onto his back and tried to rip

out the side of his neck. A woman appeared in the doorway

of the ranch house and screamed the man’s name. Crystal

left the field and sped to her, taking her down in a blur of

movement. She was now inside the ranch house and saw two

other figures coming at her. She shape shifted back into a

partial human/wolf form and slashed at the woman with long

claws. She fell back and a teenage boy swung a baseball bat

at Crystal’s head. She ducked and something leapt over her

body and took the boy down, ripping out his throat instantly.

She turned back to the woman and revelled in the flavor of

her blood. Todd fed on the boy by her side.

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Clive invited Diana Esthera to take a walk with him. The

blonde haired female warlord was a close friend of his and he

had something of great importance to tell her. He was angry

about his demotion at the hands of Serene and Jason. His

mind reeled with his sudden knowledge of what Serene really

was. He knew Diana would understand and he might have an

ally. The empty streets echoed their footsteps and Diana

carefully searched Clive’s mind for what this could possibly

be about. She knew he was angry about his demotion, but all

she could pick up was fleeting images of demons and Serene.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him so she

could look into his eyes. He spoke finally….

“Serene has not been entirely honest with us…”

He told her of his discovery, of his studies in the past and

what Serene could possibly be. He knew that his faithful

service to her would not have been affected by this new

knowledge if he had not been made to bow down to Jason.

His anger and jealousy was intense. Diana listened to him,

reading his thoughts and listening to his words.

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“If she is the Nosferatu, there would be no defeating her, and

you know that. Your mind has been poisoned by your envy.

How could you change your loyalty in such a short time?”

Clive was silent, but his mind still spoke, he wanted out of the

council.

Diana felt confusion for the first time in centuries. She had

been with Clive as a lover against the rules of the Council in

the past. She could leave with him, but the protection of the

council would leave them, the blood thirst would come back

and the assassins would hunt them down like animals.

“I will think on this for a while, you will have my answer soon”

Diana turned and walked back to the building, leaving Clive

standing in the street.

Time passed slowly for Clive for once, he was used to the

days flying by like minutes, weeks like hours, years like

months, and centuries like years. He and many other

members of the Council had been made into vampires

against their will centuries ago, in the Dark Ages. All that

they had wanted was survival and order. Now to find that

their leader was the demon that started it all made him

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resentful. The humans were so lucky up until the recent

events. Living out their lives from childhood to adolescence

to adulthood, finding love that lasted, growing old with

family, children and grandchildren. He felt cheated out of

that for the first few centuries as a vampire, and then joining

the council gave him purpose and leadership. Now those

feeling were coming back, the whole post-mortem world was

Serene’s fault from the start. He decided to turn as many

members of the Council against her as he could.

The campaign was not easy, as he spoke with different

members, they exhibited their usual loyalty to Serene, but

after some convincing of his point of view they joined him,

one by one in his way of thinking. This captive-turned-

General was great leverage. Serene, in her all knowing

power, began to read that the Council was turning against

her.

Clive was the root of the problem. The poison from him was

spreading. She knew a battle was coming, and it would be

she and Jason alone to fight it. She leaned back on the fine

sheets of her bed and mentally called him.

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The children, with their uncanny ability to endure grave

situations, were playing out in the forest while Karen and Jake

worried about their survival. The vampires seemed to be

staying in rural areas, but could find them if they looked hard

enough. With prey dwindling, Jake knew they would do just

that. Karen had been unable to stay awake as well as Jake,

but he felt that she needed more sleep than he did. Nights in

this forest with no light and no campfire were frightening,

and visions of what had transpired in Jackson Hole haunted

him night and day. He could see the burning vampires, the

grief stricken faces of families, and most of all, his son, that

he’d had to kill. He and Karen spent much of their time

sharpening stakes from the fallen branches of the trees

surrounding them. Many large spears were stacked against

the side of the tent.

Night was falling again, and he roused Karen from her

nap to watch with him. The children were herded into the

tent despite their protests of “Wanting to play some more.”

Karen sat by the dwindling fire they had used to cook supper

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and stared at the glowing coals, lost in thought. Jake came to

sit beside her and scanned the area around them.

All looked safe for the time being.

The night wore on and Jake threw water on the still smoking

fire pit. Karen went to fetch some more from the deep stream

that ran nearby when Jake heard an unfamiliar sound.

“Get back here” He hissed at Karen and she immediately

joined him. Shining a spotlight into the area the sound had

come from they saw only a flash of movement, then it was

gone.

“Maybe it was just a coyote.” Karen said, desperate hope in

her voice.

“Dinner for tomorrow?” Jake joked, his voice belying his

serious expression.

A pair of eyes lit up in the darkness, not far from the original

sound. Jake hopped into the bed of the Ford and grabbed his

shotgun. Karen stood before the tent opening, ready to guard

the children.

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Suddenly, they began to hear sounds all around them. Jake

jumped to the roof of the cab where he could see the entire

perimeter and held the shotgun at ready.

A large, wolf like creature stepped into the clearing, slavering

at them. Its fur was pure black, but it had no tail and its front

paws were much like that of human hands. Jake fired the

shotgun, blowing it backwards into the brush. It regained it

feet and more of the same creatures emerged from the

forest. Karen could hear the children screaming inside the

tent, Olivia was trying to unzip the door, but Karen shoved a

hand in her face.

“Get back in.”

Jake fired at the creatures, pausing to reload the

shotgun from a pocketful of ammunition. They seemed to be

enjoying teasing him, gracefully leaping away from the blasts

and coming closer. He dropped the shotgun into the bed of

the Ford and grabbed a long spear, thrusting it at the nearest

monster. It penetrated its eye and the monster fell back,

screaming and grasping the spear from Jakes hands. Jake

took a long step forward and grabbed the spear again,

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shoving it into the monster’s brain. The creature melted

before his eyes and left a gooey human skeleton.

The game was over; three more creatures attacked Jake,

knocking him from his feet. He fought them valiantly, holding

back their snapping teeth from his neck. Karen left the tent

and bodily threw one of the creatures from her husband. It

whirled and snarled at her with long, curved canines. She

grabbed another spear and shoved it through another

monster atop Jake, as it deteriorated; she found she could lift

it off him. Jake got a foot under the stomach of the third and

shoved it off, regaining his feet. The children had unzipped

the door to the tent and stood screaming, watching the fight.

Karen grabbed the shotgun and blew off the head of one at

close range.

The last one fled into the forest, moving faster than they

could see.

Karen checked Jake for any bite marks, but he was

mainly bruised and scratched up. The children were refusing

to stay in the tent now, finding excuses to come out and be

with their parents. The next order of business was to get rid

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of the skeletal remains of the vampires. Four had attacked

them, and three had died, but all in different ways. One had

crumbled to dust, another was a mass of bone and some

gooey substance and the third was charred as if it had

caught fire. Jake and Karen dug a shallow hole and shoved

the two intact skeletons into it.

Jake covered them up with dirt and Karen shoved dirt over

the top of the strange dust. Exhausted now, they decided to

sleep for part of the day.

Karen awoke by noon and made a fire. She was hungry

and she knew that the rest of the family would be also.

There were eight potatoes left and six eggs, so she made a

hash. The smell of the late breakfast awakened Jake and he

went to the children’s tent to rouse them to eat.

Olivia was curled up in a fetal position in the back corner of

the tent, obviously having had trouble sleeping. Alissa was

up immediately, but Jimmy was not there.

“Jimmy’s gone!” He shouted to Karen, who took the pan from

the fire and glanced into the tent as if her looking would

make the child materialize.

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“Maybe he is down by the stream.

They zipped up the tent again with the girls inside and went

looking for the missing child. Calling his name over and over,

they combed every possible place until they came upon a

cave high in the mountainside. Jake struggled up to it and

peered inside. In the darkness he could make out three

tunnels leading in different directions into the cliff. He

desperately hoped that Jimmy had gone into the cave to

explore.

“Go back to the camp, honey,” He shouted down to

Karen “Maybe he is in here.”

Karen broke into tears and walked back to the camp. Olivia

was picking at the food in the frying pan and Alissa was

throwing rocks at cans she had set up a small distance away.

Karen was overcome with emotion and hugged her

daughters one by one. Then, trying to get herself under

control, she told them about the cave, “Daddy and Jimmy will

be back soon.”

Jake chose the widest tunnel and climbed into it, it led

upwards for quite a way, then dropped several feet. There

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was no way Jimmy could have gone into this one so he

climbed back out. Choosing another tunnel, he followed it up;

it became narrower and narrower until he had to crawl, then

the tunnel turned into a large open space. Jake dropped

down from it and stood, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the

darkness. After a time, he could make out several forms lying

still upon the floor. He could hear heavy breathing from all

around him and he realized he had found a lair.

A small voice came from his right, ”Daddy?”

It was Jimmy, the child was standing back in a corner

obviously too terrified to move. He tucked the child under his

arm and hurried back to the tunnel. Pushing Jimmy into it, he

waited for a second, looking back at the forms lying on the

cave floor, thinking about the coming night. He got an idea

and climbed up to the mouth of the tunnel.

Soon they were back out into the daylight, Jimmy held an

arm up to his eyes and moaned. Jake shouted for Karen and

she appeared in seconds. He handed the child down to her

and she held him tightly in her arms, weeping with relief. Jake

climbed down and joined them. They walked back to camp.

207
The Shadow of Rhiannon

Chapter 9

Serene called a council meeting, penetrating the minds

of every member, including the board of assassins. They

gathered soberly in the Chamber, awaiting her arrival. After

a few seconds Serene appeared with Jason and everyone sat

at the long table, eyes downcast. Clive looked around,

getting confirmation from all minds that they were one in

thought. Serene sat, but Jason remained standing at her right

hand.

“So you all have something on your minds, speak now.”

Clive raised his eyes along with the rest of the council.

“You have not been forthcoming with us.”

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“My secrets are mine to keep, not yours to question.”

Clive stood, and Diana shot him a warning glance. He ignored

it. “What are you?”

Lilith raised herself slowly from her seat and removed her

robe, the robe she always wore, the robe they had never

seen her without. Her body was covered with a kind of

armour now; She spread her large, bat like wings and a gasp

echoed through the chamber.

“You all dare to conspire against me, now you will pay the

price.”

She began to glow with a fiery light and her hair turned to

flame. The council was on their feet now, but all doors

slammed shut. Streams of fire burst from her wings and

caught Clive and Diana, lifting them into the air. They were

slammed with incredible force into the wall behind them.

“This is what I am!” Serene held her arms out, palms

forward, and bursts of brilliant light shot from the heads of

each council member, traveling into her fingertips. Nearly

transparent forms shot from her eyes. The forms became a

legion of red skinned female demons that attacked every

209
council member in the room. Jason stepped back against the

wall, watching in awe as they were torn apart by the

beautiful Succubae. Those who did not become immobile

immediately tried to escape through the doors, only to be

rent limb from limb by the demons.

Black vampire blood coated the floor. Still alive, though

torn apart, the limbless bodies of the ancient vampires

wriggled upon the floor. Serene pulled a silver sword from a

sheath at her side and handed it to Jason. “Put this through

the heads of each of them. Prove to me your loyalty.” Jason

did as he was instructed while the legion of demons and

Serene watched. Each vampire died in a different way. Some

exploded, some imploded, some combusted, others just

crumbled to dust. They screamed as they saw him coming

for them.

Dripping with blood and gore, he returned the sword to

Serene and she raised her hands once more. Demonic

laughter filled the chamber as all the naked succubae

reached out to him, stroking and caressing him with their

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long fingers. Then they were gone, and he and Serene stood

alone. She returned to her human-like form and drew him

close, kissing him, her hands moving up and down his body.

Jason felt a little sick, but he was not what he used to be. He

belonged forever to Lilith, and he would do anything she

requested.

Morning had come and the Crows were sated, they

found beds in the Ranch house. There were still plenty of

cattle to feed on, but they had to complete our mission. Todd

and Crystal climbed naked into a bed after showering the

blood from their bodies. Crystal was nearly asleep when she

felt his hands roaming over her body. She responded with a

giggle and wrapped one leg over his hip. They moved

together, lying on their sides, thoroughly enjoying each other.

Night fell and Crystal, Todd, and Shane rose and got

dressed. Crystal was strapping a gun to her thigh when she

got an unusual pain in her abdomen. She gasped and fell to

her knees. Todd helped her up, but the pain came again and

she fell again, this time onto her back.

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“What is wrong?” He asked, combing back the hair on her

face with his fingers.

“I don’t know, its my stomach, something is wrong.”

He lifted her in his arms and laid her back onto the bed. “You

rest a moment, we will be back.”

Todd and Shane left the ranch house and drove back into

town; they could sense that two vampires had escaped the

fire. Just as they reached the remains of the hotel, they heard

the roar of engines. Two vampires sped past them on

motorcycles, heading south. Shane and Todd hurried back to

the ranch house. Crystal felt that she could walk, but a

terrible weakness had overtaken her. They fed on cattle, Todd

helping Crystal by breaking one’s legs. The weakness

passed and they drove south, still fixated on their mission.

The two vampires names were Randy and Michael, brothers.

Crystal knew this but did not know how.

“The problem, though unbelievable as it may seem, lies in

the influx of Americans trying to escape their country. They

are bringing the disease of vampirism with them. From their

own accounts, America is a wasteland, filled with the

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sickness. We must confront this problem and save our own

countries from becoming infected.” The Speaker sat down,

discussion rose throughout the room.

“If we take the measure that I believe you are promoting,

wont fallout affect our Countries as well?”

“That is a risk that we must all keep in mind. We can either

allow this disease to run rampant through our own homes or

eliminate it in the best way we know how.”

More discussion rose, but the speaker raised a hand. “All

those in favor of sending nuclear missiles to the United

States raise their hands.”

Silently, a few hands rose, then a few more, that was all that

the speaker needed.

He left the room silently, considering the gravity of their

decision.

Americans were not welcome in any country anymore,

having left their country in droves and bringing members of

their families that were reborn with them. Some of the

Americans had even been Vampires for a while and decided

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to leave the states to find fresh blood abroad. The media,

which had broadcast worldwide Rhiannon’s killing spree, had

also broadcast the executions of those unfortunate souls that

were captured, tortured, and murdered in every state. The

rest of the world had watched, aghast, as the United States

became a nightmare. And no one would take in the travelers

that tried to get out. Now nuclear annihilation seemed the

only choice left, and the meeting of the United Nations

sealed America’s fate.

Jake flooded the cave floor with gasoline, working

quickly as he could before night fell. Some of the vampires

stirred briefly, but their sleep was deep enough to allow him

to work with no real danger. He had excess gasoline, taken

from a gas station along the way to the forest. He and Karen

had rigged up a pulley and she waited outside and hoisted

the canisters to her husband while he worked. Finally, he was

satisfied that he had flooded it enough. He lit a book of

matches on the cave wall and dropped it in a puddle nearby.

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Blue flame traveled across the cave floor and he climbed

back into the tunnel, moving as quickly as he could to

escape. The flame roused the vampires, who, finding

themselves afire tried desperately to roll on the cave floor,

only soaking themselves further with gasoline. Inhuman

screams and howls became deafening to Jakes ears as he

made a dive from the outside mouth of the cave, rolling

down the steep hill. Several of the vampires jammed their

flaming bodies into the small tunnel leading out of the

chamber and began to come out, one by one into the

daylight. But it was too late for them and the burning corpses

littered the ground and filled the tunnel so there was no way

out for the remainder of the monsters that managed to beat

the flame from themselves. Jake and Karen fled the scene.

The children sat in the Ford, waiting impatiently for their

parent’s return. Jake pulled the tent from the ground, stakes

and all and threw it in the bed of the truck. Soon they were

back on the mountain road, climbing higher and higher into

the wilderness.

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From a new camping spot, the Tristans watched the sun

sink low in the horizon. Jimmy had been doing a lot of

sleeping that day and now lay with his head on his mother’s

lap. His eyes slowly opened as the moon rose and he felt an

overwhelming emptiness inside. He slowly rose from his

mother’s lap and looked into her eyes.

“Momma, I’m hungry.” He said in a small voice.

Karen was about to answer him when he suddenly clamped

his teeth into her neck. She screamed and Jake tried to pull

the child off her. Olivia and Alissa stepped back, away from

the struggle. Jake disengaged Jimmy from Karen, and the

child twisted violently in his hands, then turned his small face

to his father, blood dripping from his mouth.

He whined. “I’m just so hungry, daddy.”

Before Jake could respond, the child ripped through the flesh

of his arm with long canines and kicked him in the stomach,

knocking the wind from him. Jake fell backwards and hit his

head on a tree stump, knocking himself cold. Jimmy took

advantage of the situation and climbed atop his father, ready

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to rip into his throat. Karen grabbed a large branch and

knocked Jimmy off Jake. Tears ran down her face as blood

from her ripped neck soaked into her shirt. Jimmy stood for a

second, his eyes glowing red in the darkness. “I’m just so

hungry…..”

He launched himself at her in a blur of speed and locked his

teeth into her neck again, finishing what he started.

Alissa and Olivia stood back and watched in horror as

Jimmy left their mother and returned to their father. His small

body was pale in the moonlight as he climbed back atop him.

Olivia remembered what she had seen her parents do to the

monsters that had come the night before and grabbing a

stick, attempted to stake the child. The end of the branch

only glanced off Jimmy’s back, tearing his t-shirt. Jimmy

hissed at her and turned back to Jake. Olivia swung the stick

at her brother, knocking him off their father. Jimmy glowered

at them for a second, and then ran into the forest.

Not knowing when and if Jimmy would return, Alissa and

Olivia desperately tried to awaken Jake. Their mother lay in a

pool of blood nearby, her eyes staring up into the darkness.

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Finally Jake began to move, his eyes opened. He sat up

slowly groaning and rubbing the back of his head. What had

just transpired came back to him in a rush and he crawled

over to Karen, he gently rolled her head to the side and

stared in disbelief at the huge rip in the side of her neck. He

carefully closed her eyes and sat back in shock.

“What do we do now, daddy?” Alissa asked, coming over to

kneel by his side. “Why did Jimmy do that?”

Jake was still in too much shock to answer and she began to

cry, Olivia joined her with a small wail. Jake realized that his

daughters needed his attention and he pulled Alissa into his

arms and motioned for Olivia to come over. “We will be all

right, we are just going to have to leave again, just the three

of us, and there is nothing we can do for your mom and Jim.”

Serene and Jason travelled alone now, in the forms of

large black birds, stopping at various places to inspect

holding pens full of ragged, ravaged humans. Serene talked

to the vampires present, instructing them to kill anyone that

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tried to take more than their own nightly ration of blood.

Jason noted that there were just too many vampires now and

too few humans. Soon there would be no prey left. Serene

wore her black cloak as always, disguising her majestic

wings. Jason watched over her carefully, knowing that the

vampires around them were hungry and desperate for blood.

Many of them deserted the camps, hoping to find surviving

humans that had not been taken yet. Fights broke out often,

but Serene and Jason were able to stop them with a word.

Serene wore her armour under her cloak, and she was an

impressive sight. Her very presence kept most of the

vampires subdued in awe of her.

Keys were turning in every country, locked control

rooms opened and secure computer systems were activated.

Satellite photos showed where the largest grouping of the

population of Vampires were and targets were recalibrated.

All waited on the orders from their countries leaders to

launch the attack.

The Crows were entering Mexico now; the bikers had

left a pretty obvious trail. The sun was beginning to rise, and

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Crystal felt the weakness threefold. There was no shelter

anywhere in sight. Shane drove with heavy lids, fighting to

stay awake. Crystal laid her head on Todd’s lap and he

covered her with a light blanket.

Crystal dreamed for the first time in days. She found

herself standing alone in a void, naked. A strange feeling

came over her and her head reeled. Crystal’s body began to

change, but it was not the metamorphosis that she had

become accustomed to. Her belly began to grow larger and

rounder with every second and she realized that she was

pregnant. Before her eyes a fetus floated in mid-air. She

reached out to touch it and felt living warmth in its body. It

rapidly developed and she saw that it was male. He turned

his tiny head and stared at her with wide blue eyes.

A voice filled Crystal’s head and she saw Serene

standing to her side. She smiled at her and Crystal felt shock

at her presence. “You hold within you a living vampire,”

She touched the fetus with her long fingers and turned back

to Crystal. “The child will bring great changes.”

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She disappeared as suddenly as she had come and the

image of the child faded. Crystal’s body returned to normal

and she felt relief wash over her. The council strictly forbade

procreation, but she had not been punished.

Serene saw in her mind what was transpiring in the other

lands of the world. Without a word, she gave Jason the signal

to transform and they flew south, wingtip to wingtip. Speed

was a necessity and she communicated this to him. He

obeyed without question and they sped over the countryside.

Waves of destructive fire swept over America as each

missile struck its target. Flesh was blown from the bones of

billions of bodies, vampire and human alike. The walls of fire

left nothing alive in their paths. Only the high mountain

ranges and the barren desert areas were spared. Cities

crumbled and burned, leaving twisted metal skeletons where

buildings once stood. Sewers boiled over, spouting into the

arid air, blowing manhole covers from the streets. There was

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no escape from that hell bound place once known as home to

millions.

From the mountain tops the remainder of the Tristan

family watched in horror as wave after wave of flames took

the country. Serene and Jason flew with the hot winds behind

them, and Crystal, Shane and Todd drove safely in Mexican

territory, only a few hundred miles from the destruction.

Out of Annihilation: Book 3

Chapter 10

Many years had passed since the bombing of the United States. Fallout

was still present, but scarce. Human suvivors suffered from radiation

sickness, others were badly burned and healing was very slow. There was

always a saying from the 1980's that rang true. The living envied the dead.

Vampire survivors healed in no time at all and were basically unaffected by

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the radiation. Their only trouble was finding healthy human prey. Mexico had

its fair share of fallout, but vampires crossed the border in hopes of finding

more healthy sustenance.

The three remaining Crows were now four. Crystal had given birth to a

living child, he was born with elongated and curved sharp canine teeth and

had all the power of his mother and father. He grew at an accelerated rate. He

was only 8 years old, but was nearly as tall as his father. Before his birth,

Crystal, Todd, and Shane were well within Mexico when nuclear weapons

decimated America.

The Mexican people were wary of vampirism, but did not question a

child that was not weakened by sunlight. Oftentimes, Crystal would awaken

during the day to find that the child, Devon, had gone out to look for blood.

His appetite was insatiable and he, like the rest of the Crows, could not

stomach anything but blood. To go without it would bring great pain and

discomfort.

Meanwhile, back in America, Lilith (Otherwise known as Serene) and

Jason were fairly successful in bringing most of the remaining vampires back

together. There were still some renegades left, those that did not choose to

follow any kind of law now that the Council was gone. Serene was very

powerful however. She was extremely charismatic and inspired most of the

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remaining Vampires to follow her orders and ideals. Jason was her consort,

always following her instruction and carrying out her every wish. He had

become accustomed to her past history and knew what and who she was.

Serene often consulted the seeing window, watching the Crows and took

great interest in watching the child named Devon grow. She kept her thoughts

about the child to herself, however, but Jason knew she wanted the child. He

possessed great power. He knew that eventually Serene would take the child,

she was only biding her time until the circumstances were right for such

action. Jason watched only with mild interest, not knowing if her plans

included him. Being the mother of the beautiful, red skinned Succubae

Demons, she had but to call upon them and they would carry out anything she

desired.

Devon walked through the streets of the town, conscientiously keeping

his mouth closed so as not to show his teeth. Other children played in the

streets and he would have loved to join them, but he avoided them, knowing

their minds and thoughts. He was out looking for a female today, somehow

they always tasted better. He was not yet old enough to be sexually attracted

to females, but he had his preferences.

Soon, he spotted a young girl, aged sixteen or seventeen, hanging laundry on

a wooden fence. He approached her, a coy smile upon his lips.

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"Will you play with me?" He asked in Spanish, having learned it quickly from

the locals.

She looked him over and smiled, "Don’t you think you are a bit too old to

play?"

He smiled back, carefully hiding his teeth. "I will never be too old to play."

She gazed into his handsome face, the smile fading from her mouth. He held

out a hand and she took it. He led her into her back yard and quickly sank his

teeth into her throat. She gasped and fought him for a second, then relaxed in

a swoon. Devon finished her off, then slashed her throat open with his long

fingernails. It only took a few minutes before the heart stopped beating, and

his mother had told him many times never to drink from the dead, and he had

to make a killing slash because otherwise she could be recognized as a

vampire kill, and worse yet, awaken and give away the presence of the

Crows. He cloaked himself with invisibilty and returned to the lair where he

knew his mother was probably awaiting him. She was always so protective.

Crystal sat by the window, sleepily gazing out, watching for her son.

She had been having frightening dreams lately. Serene's face appeared to her

many times, demanding her son. Crystal sensed an impending battle, but had

no conception of when it would take place. Serene was the most powerful

vampire she had ever seen, and she knew that there was more to her than

could be comprehended even for the most adept vampire.

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The door swung open as if on its own accord and closed. The air

shimmered for a second and Devon uncloaked. This was no surprise to

Crystal, she knew that Devon enjoyed his invisibility from time to time and

she did her best to teach and encourage him to use his inherited power. He

was strong with intense energy and that frightened Crystal sometimes. He

was a quick study, always mastering the magical arts she taught and

exceeding her as if he knew more than she did. He did not yet understand

how to morph, but Crystal knew that it would come when the time was right.

Crystal greeted her son, reading his thoughts of what he had done. She

led him down a flight of stairs leading to the cool, dark basement. Todd,

Shane and Crystal slept down there regularly. Beds were laid out in three

rooms. Todd and Crystal shared one room, Shane hadn't found a mate yet, so

he slept alone in a small, narrow room that was much like a cubby hole.

Devon had the largest room, with a large bed and built-in shelving. A single

light bulb with a pull cord hung from the ceiling. Devon spent a great amount

of time reading books written both in spanish and english. He was fascinated

with the vampire myths and many of his books were based on it, both

fictionally and nonfiction. His intelligence was far beyond his years.

Olivia and Alissa decided after their father finally died from radiation

sickness that they would not go the same way. The two tearfully dug a grave

for him and tied a cross together with two boards, sinking it at the head of the

226
grave, they simply wrote his name upon it. They had made a pact that when

he was dead, they would offer themselves to the vampires, hoping to escape

the painful torture that their father had to endure. They knew that all sickness

would leave them, and they would never grow old. Both were well into their

teens now. Nine years had passed since their little brother had been taken in

the night by vampires, then had attacked their mother. They had not seen or

heard from him since the incident, but were always on the lookout for him.

Olivia and Alissa made their way down the side of the mountain until

they found a paved road. They followed it, and by nightfall were nearing the

deserted highway. They walked fearfully along it, always wary of every

sound.

They stopped as they suddenly heard the sound of an engine roaring

down the highway. Alissa's first impulse was to hide behind anything she

could, but there was nowhere to hide. Olivia caught her arm just as Alissa

turned to run,

"Remember our pact!!!"

Alissa, trying to relax, stood beside her sister. A large semi-truck pulled up

beside them and stopped. There were three people in the cab, Olivia stepped

forward and asked if they could have a ride to the nearest town. A woman in

the cab stepped out and walked around to the back of the truck, opening the

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doors. Alissa could make out the forms of at least ten people in the trailer,

sitting along the sides. Pistols, Rifles, and a large array of other weapons

were heaped in the middle of the trailer.

The woman turned to Olivia and Alissa.

"You are lucky we were the first to find you, you could have been mighty

tasty to some of the vermin roaming this land."

"You're all human?" Olivia asked

The woman nodded breifly and looked around into the darkness.

"You'd better get in so we can keep moving, its feeding time for the

monsters."

Olivia and Alissa climbed into the trailer with the help of some of the people

inside. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness the woman from the cab closed

the doors and the engine roared back to life.

"What do you call yourselves?" A voice from Olivia's right asked, sounding

suspicious.

"I'm Olivia Tristan and this is my sister Allisa."

"What the hell were you doing walking out on the highway?"

"We were hoping to find someone to help us, our daddy just died from the

radiation."

The trailer was silent for a few minutes and Olivia fidgeted nervously.

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"Sorry to hear about your daddy," another voice spoke, male and younger.

"You can hang with us, we are planning to........"

Another voice interrupted him. "Cole, why don't you make up a bed with

some of our blankets for these two. We can talk business later."

Ducking behind a corner of a building, Rayge fired off three rounds

and flattened herself against the wall as bullets zinged past, barely missing

her ear. She had no idea how much ammunition the other vampires had, but

they were intent on killing her. She only had to worry about them tagging her

head or heart, otherwise she would be fine. Her silver streaked black hair

blew back from her angular face in a cool night breeze. She dropped the spent

clip out of the pistol she carried and slapped in a fresh one. Firing off rounds

in the direction of the others, she sped across the opening between the

buildings. Rolling across the ground, she found cover behind an old truck

positioned near her intended sanctuary. She had been feeding when she was

rudely interrupted by the other vampires, she had to drop the still-living body

and escape being killed. The other vampires were obviously new reborns as

they had trouble tracking her. Rayge dug into her leather jacket pocket for the

baseball sized grenade she had stolen from the cache of weapons back at the

outpost. She peered around the front of the truck just in time to see three of

the others running in her direction. She pulled the pin and tossed the grenade

into their midst. It exploded and sent shrapnel directly into one vampire's

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brain, killing him instantly. The others dodged for cover. Rayge climbed

inside the truck, hoping that it was still in working order. Finding the keys still

in the ignition and a withered corpse at the wheel she opened the passenger

side door and kicked the body out and turned the key. At first the engine

sputtered and died, but she tried again and the engine turned over nicely. One

of the other vampires leapt in front of her and tried to climb onto the hood,

but she gunned the engine and crunched him beneath the tires. She was going

to have to hunt somewhere else, and she was hoping that she would not be

interrupted again.

Markuss couldn’t believe that they had lost the female vampire they

had caught making an unauthorized kill. Serene had set down guidelines for

feeding. He knew this one, she had named herself Rayge. Markuss and

Donovan watched as she ran over one of their comrades, leaving him crushed

and twitching in the mud-covered asphalt. They decided to go back to her kill

and finish him off. He appeared dead but they could still hear his heart

beating. Markuss and Donovan slashed open both of his wrists and drank

until his heart stopped.

Olivia awoke in a state of confusion, momentarily forgetting the night

before. She and her sister were lying in a pile of blankets in the the semi

trailer. The doors were open and she blearily staggered out. Approximately

fifteen people were seated around a campfire. Olivia looked around and

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realized that this was the campsite that her family had occupied when her

younger brother had been taken in the night and then killed her mother. She

peered around nervously, noting the area her mother's body had occupied

before they buried her.

She decided to join the others at the fire, it was cold and she was hungry. She

decided to awaken her sister so that she could eat also. Alissa was not hard to

rouse, but she awoke with a small scream, her eyes wide with terror from

some kind of nightmare. Olivia was used to this and gently told her that it was

just a dream and to come and have something to eat.

Alissa rose slowly, rubbing tears from her eyes.

Breakfast was potatoes, sausage, eggs, and bacon all thrown together

in a hash. Apparently they had found a good source for clean supplies.

Everyone took enough to sustain them but Alissa was not hungry. Olivia

worried about her, knowing that this usually happened after Alissa had a

particularly bad dream. She sat on a log away from the others, shivering.

Olivia asked the oldest person there if she could get a blanket for her sister.

"My name is Harvey, young lady, and yes, she needs one."

"Thank you, Harvey."

Olivia got out a small comforter and wrapped it around her sister. Alissa

mumbled a "Thank you." and huddled deeper into the blanket. Olivia heaped

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a bit of food onto a paper plate and offered it to Alissa, but to no avail.

Harvey watched all this, a wrinkle of concern furrowing his brow.

"Go on and eat young lady, get some meat on them bones."

Alissa regarded him as if she was looking through him, then accepted the

plate, picking at it with a plastic fork. Olivia helped herself to some and ate it

as quickly as she could without embarassing herself. When she had finished,

she walked over and sat on the log beside her sister, reaching one arm around

her and hugging her close.

"You want to talk about it?"

Alissa paused, a thoughtful look on her face.

"This is where mom died."

"Yes, I noticed that."

"I had a dream about Jimmy."

Olivia didnt know what to say, so she just held her sister for a moment, then

let her resume eating. The woman that had let them into the back of the semi

had been watching them. Olivia smiled at her meekly and the woman walked

over to the two sisters.

"My name is Joanne, my husband over there is Harvey, and this is our son

Cole."

Cole walked over and shook the girls hands, slightly smiling at Olivia. She

gazed up at him, having not noticed him before. He was good looking, with

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short brown hair in a military cut and a strong, stocky build, but he was all

muscle. His green eyes lit up as he watched her study him. His mother cleared

her throat and told him to go and sit down. Olivia watched him for a time,

then joined her sister inside the comforter. A younger looking boy came over

and introduced himself as Rick Wilton. He pointed out his family. His uncle

was Jerry Wilton, and his aunt was Cher Wilton. He was noticably darker

skinned with black hair in a military cut and brown eyes. He was well built

with wide shoulders and narrow hips, not unlike his uncle's. His aunt sat apart

from the rest, silently regarding the girls. She was very pretty and young

looking in contrast to the uncle, who, though young looking himself, was

given away by deep lines in his forehead and around his eyes.

Rick asked if there was anything he could get for them and Olivia declined

with a "Thanks anyway".

The locals were starting to catch on that there was some kind of

vampirism going on in their village. Too many young girls were turning up

dead with neck wounds. It was time to move on.

At daybreak they found an abandoned barn and slept near the back of

the building. They were just settling in when the door burst open and a female

sped inside, barring the door behind her. She sniffed the air and realized she

was not alone. Crystal, Todd, and Shane sat up and stared at her in surprise.

Devon remained asleep.

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"Oh....I didn’t realize that this place was taken, I'll find another place.

Shane couldn’t help but stare, she was the most beautiful vampire since he

had seen Rhiannon. She had long black hair with silver streaks running from

both temples and there was no way of telling her age.

"Oh, you can stay here." He stuttered

She silently crossed the barn floor and laid back a short distance away

from the Crows. Shane watched her for a short time until he could no longer

keep his eyes open.

The Crows and their guest awoke with the setting sun. Shane decided

to introduce himself. She shook his hand and told him that her name was

Rayge. He found the name to be unusual, but accepted it. She was too

beautiful to question.

They went out into the night, searching for more fresh blood to satisfy their

painful hunger. Shane walked closely with Rayge, trying hard to forget

Rhiannon. This girl had to have been taken at somewhere around eighteen

years old. She was not as voluptious as Rhiannon, but was very athletic with

a strong build. Her pure white skin reflected the full moonlight that shone

upon her and he realized that when she glanced in his direction, her eyes

glowed slightly with a blue light. He had seen Crystal and Todd when they

were being affectionate and knew why her eyes shone that color. He was

pleased by what it could mean.

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Onyx swung his blade across the other vampire's neck, hoping to

slash his throat deeply enough to end this fight. He had been attacked by two

while hunting. One was a smoldering, blackened corpse that had

spontaneously combusted when Onyx drove the point of his blade into his

temple. The other vampire choked on his own black blood while trying to

hold the deep cut closed with one hand, the other reaching for his own blade.

Onyx dodged backwards, avoiding his powerful swing. The other vampire

continued to choke, then fell back onto the pavement, gagging and

convulsing. Onyx stood his ground, watching him die. Soon he was still and

his body imploded with a loud hiss, the blood drying almost immediately.

Onyx looked around for something to wipe the blood from his knife, but there

was nothing to do so with, so he slid it into it's sheath. His hunger was great

and growing with each minute, so he resumed his hunt. He smelled life

somewhere nearby, but it was so remote that he did not know whether it was

human or animal. It did not matter as he had been living on animal blood for

several nights.

Onyx walked for two hours, following the scent. As he neared the

quarry he realized that it was not one, but several humans. A farmhouse came

into sight and he formulated a plan. He approached the front door and

knocked. The door opened a crack and a young girl peered out. "Who are

you?" She spoke with some difficulty, obviously knowing very little English.

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"I need a bed for the night," He replied "There is danger out here."

The girl considered this for a moment, then closed the door. He could hear

her speaking to her mother about him. The door opened slightly, and an older,

chubby woman looked him over. Deciding that he was no threat, she opened

the door and let him into the house. He acted very cordially, speaking to the

daughter in very simple english and the girl translating his words to her

mother. He was led into a room that was empty save for a mattress on the

floor with some blankets. He thanked them and laid back on it, pretending to

feel sleepy.

The night wore on, the minutes feeling like hours as his hunger grew. Finally,

he was able to sense that everyone in the house was asleep. He slipped from

his room and became a luminous mist, flowing under the door to the master

bedroom where the mother and father were sleeping. He regained his form

and stepped to the father's

bedside. The man lay upon the covers, not under them. Onyx used his long

fingernails to rip out the man's throat, silencing him immediately. As he fed

from the man's gaping wound he reached over and slashed the mother's throat

just enough to silence her as well. She sat up, gagging on her own blood,

shock whitening her face. Onyx grabbed the back of her neck and sank his

teeth into her right breast. She fought him, her struggles becoming weaker by

the second.

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He decided to leave the children, his hunger was already sated for now. He

strode through the living room and out the door. Maybe he could come back

tomorrow and finish the job.

Harvey addressed the rest of the survivalists. He made it plain that

there had to be a ruling factor in the vampire armies that decimated the cities.

They were just too organized to be without someone laying out some sort of

strategy. He wanted to kill the ruling factor off because he believed that this

would weaken the rest of the vampires, a sort of divide-and-conquer idea.

The other survivalist had their doubts, however. There was such a large

difference in the vampire-human ratio that they were unsure about Harvey's

reasoning that this was a battle that could be won. They remained silent about

their doubts, however. Harvey had been right about so many things that they

trusted his leadership. They had to find more survivors to add to their ranks.

The two young girls they had recently found were skittish and remained a

distance from them. It was obvious that the two had been through some very

traumatic events. Alissa and Olivia only joined the others when there was

food to be eaten. They were not to be questioned about their past just yet.

Harvey had forbade anyone to try.

Onyx was slightly disappointed when he returned to the farmhouse.

The children had fled. It would be no problem to track them down and take

them. Onyx scented the air and walked westward, the cool desert air blew

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through his shoulder-length black hair. A coyote howled somewhere in the

distance, but Onyx decided not to track the animal down. He wanted the

children.

Soon he came to an abandoned car. The windows had been broken, but

it was still intact. The scent seemed to be coming from it. He crept up to a

door and peered inside. A small boy sat on the floor in the passenger side of

the front, obviously stationed as a lookout while the girl slept. The child

began to scream something to his sister in spanish and she awakened. Onyx

ripped the door off and made a grab for the girl, but she managed to slip from

his grasp and flung the door on the other side of the car open. She took her

brother's hand and the two ran out into the darkness.

Onyx was in no hurry, he was in the mood for some fun anyway, and

tracking was always entertaining.

He strode after them, the darkness as light as day to his eyes. He could

see them getting further away, running as fast as they could. Onyx decided to

catch up. With inhuman speed, he was suddenly before them. They stopped,

unsure about their next move.

The girl pushed her brother behind her and snapped a branch off a dead tree

to her right. She stood her ground, holding the branch before her.

Onyx smiled at her, coyly raising his hands.

"What is that for, little sister?"

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She jabbed the stick at him.

"For you, monster. I put this through your heart."

Onyx slowly stepped forward. He had to admire her courage. Her younger

brother clutched her leg, his face filled with terror, tears streaming down his

cheeks. The girl had called him a monster, but he knew that he was not. He

decided to let the two go.

With a flash of light, Onyx transformed into a large black hawk and took

flight, leaving the quarry behind. They had earned the right to survive.

Crystal shaped her son's hands into the gestures for transformation,

reciting to him the sacred words she had learned. Devon had tried many times

to morph, but always failed. Patiently, Crystal manipulated his hands again,

but to no avail. Devon stood and angrily stomped away, frustration taking its

toll on his emotions. Shane and Rayge sat together toward the back of the

barn, talking in hushed voices, not noticing the boy's tantrum. Crystal

followed him outside.

"You must be patient, the ability will come."

He glanced in her direction briefly, his eyes changing from red to blue in the

darkness.

"I know, mommy....I know I can morph. I'm just tired of trying right now."

Crystal smiled and embraced her son. He hugged her back, his tantrum over.

"Mommy, what am I?"

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"We are vampires."

"Why am I a vampire? All of the books I have read say that you have to be

bitten and die to be a vampire."

They had had this discussion before. Crystal knew that her son could never

comprehend that he was different, born of two vampires, therefore a living

vampire. Serene had come to her in a dream and told her when she was

pregnant that her son would change the world. Of all the things that she knew,

she knew that Serene was one to be feared. Crystal did not know how she

knew this, she just knew, and she planned to keep her son as far away from

her as possible.

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Out of Annihilation

Chapter 11

The holding pens in Los Angeles were now deserted, the human

prisoners had been drained of all their use to the vampires. The buildings

stood in wreckage from the bombs that had sent a wall of flames and

destruction through the city. Occasionally a stray animal wandered the streets,

only to be snatched up by either homeless humans or the more predatory

vampires. The city had been destroyed, but surviving humans remained in

small defensive groups. The vampires made a game of hunting them down

and feeding upon them. Some humans offered themselves to the vampires,

tired of weakness and hunger and disease, their only hope left was to become

what they feared most. The vampires made sport of torturing these hapless

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individuals, biting them in numerous parts of their bodies and leaving them to

die without receiving the dark gift.

The human survivors were equally as cruel. After so much hardship in

the years after the bombing occured, there was very little humanity left in

their hearts. After all, the humans knew that the other countries had only

bombed them because of the vampire infestation. If a lone vampire was

captured by the humans, he or she would be tortured or beaten to death. The

humans took great delight in their "cause", which of course was revenge.

Many humans took to cannibalism, their minds demented to the point of

extreme perversion and lust for killing.

The poisonous rain and snow had finally stopped, but drinking water

was still a danger. This of course was no problem for the vampires, who did

not want water. Humans, though, needed it to survive, radioactive or not.

More humans lay dead in the streets every day, either from radiation sickness,

attacks from other humans, or vampire kills. The corpses were taken shortly

after death by the cannibals. Nothing was ever wasted, not even human flesh.

Devon had finally given up on trying to morph for the time being and

decided to pursue his hunger instead. Night had fallen once again. Shane,

Rayge, Crystal, and Todd went out with him. There was a cantina nearby and

they decided to look there for sustenance.

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The cantina was lit up with neon signs and old Christmas lights

hanging from it's eaves. They entered through a pair of swing doors and took

in the scene. Dancers stood nude on tables, allowing several rough-looking

men to touch them, but not for long. Obviously, the cantina was also a

Brothel. A large, grizzled looking man scooped a thin mexican girl from a

table and carried her up a flight of stairs located in the back of the room.

Devon stood, wide eyed and confused by what he saw before him. He was

not used to seeing such behaviour, but it was a fact of life in this area, and

though Crystal wanted to cover his eyes or take him back outside, she

swallowed her disgust and the five of them found a table and sat down.

A topless waitress came over and asked in spanish what they would be

drinking. Rayge immediately ordered a tequila and Shane followed suit. Once

delivered, the mugs sat undisturbed on the table as the Crows began to devise

a plan in their joined thoughts as to how they would feed.

Onyx sensed other vampires nearby, two males, by the scent that was

carried to him by the relentless wind of the desert. Soon he approached them.

One was stocky with dark hair and dark brooding eyes, staring into a fire the

two had built, the other was tall and well muscled, with short blondish hair

cut military-style. The stocky one noticed his presence almost immediately

and pulled a gun from his belt and aimed it at Onyx's head.

"Looks like we have some more competition for blood, Donovan."

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The muscular comrade circled around behind Onyx and Markuss stood up

slowly, carefully keeping the gun aimed at him. Donovan pulled a long knife

from the back of his belt. Onyx stood his ground not showing any fear to

these two.

Markuss stepped up to Onyx and pressed the muzzle of the gun to his

head. This was a mistake. Onyx moved in a flash, gripping the gun by the

barrel and wrenching it from the other vampires grasp, he flung it out into the

desert. In the same movement he spun around and caught Markuss in the jaw

with the back of his fist. Donovan stabbed the blade into Onyx's midsection,

causing him to falter long enough for Markuss to recover from the blow.

Onyx pulled the knife out of his stomach and threw it back at Donovan,

sinking the point deep into his skull. Donovan exploded, black blood and

flesh covering Onyx from behind. Markuss looked around for the gun, but to

no avail. Onyx was on him, dragging his long fingernails across his throat,

making four long, deep slashes that he knew Markuss would not recover

from, almost severing the vampire's head from his body. Markuss clutched at

his throat, but his blood was gushing so severely that he could not pull the

flesh back together, in his attempts to do so he tore off a ragged strip of skin.

After a few minutes he crumbled into dust.

The plan was made and communicated to every mind in the small band

of vampires that sat at a table in the brothel. Crystal made her way to the door

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and stretched out her arms, concentrating. No one noticed this until flames

shot up from the floor, creating a wall of magical fire. Panic overtook the

patrons and they rushed to the small windows, picking up chairs to smash

through them. The rest of the vampires rose from the table and uttered an

incantation as one, transforming into half-wolves. Devon joined his mother

near the entrance, unable to morph, but attacking those nearby with the same

zeal.

He noticed one of the nude dancers nearby and threw her against a wall. She

shrieked with terror and Devon clamped a hand over her mouth as he sank his

teeth into her right breast. She fainted dead away as he fed, moving from her

breast to her underarm and sinking his teeth into the large vein located there.

The magical flames at the door resumed burning, keeping the patrons from

leaving via the exit. A man was stuck in one of the two small windows. Rayge

dragged him back into the brothel and slashed at him with giant Lycanthropic

claws. She tore the flesh from his chest, revealing most of his ribs on his left

side. She buried her claw in his lower abdomen and tore upwards, spilling

several organs and intestines onto the floor. She buried her snout in his

wrecked stomach and drank the blood that flowed freely from his torn liver.

He died quickly, so she moved on. The next thing on the menu was one of the

shameless whores that mounted the stairway two steps at a time when she

saw the blood soaked wolf-creature coming for her. Rayge followed her up

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the stairs. She caught the woman's ankle and nearly tore her foot off dragging

her back down the stairs. She bit hard into the struggling woman's inner thigh

and the whore screamed in pain, trying to pull away from the monster. Rayge,

let go of the woman just long enough to strike her across the temple,

rendering her unconscious. She then returned to the place she had been

feeding from before.

Crystal stood and watched as the others tore the brothel and everyone

in it apart. A man rushed in her direction, gun drawn. He fired the pistol at

close range into Crystal's ribs before she could focus her attention upon him.

She felt a moment of pain and the blast rendered her deaf for a few seconds.

She grasped the man's wrist and crushed it, causing him to drop the weapon.

She tore his arm from its socket, the flesh stretching and tearing. She tossed

the dismembered arm aside and stepped onto his head, feeding from the blood

that spouted like a small geyser from the empty hole.

A few people had escaped the brothel and disappeared into the night,

some in vehicles, others on foot. Blood soaked into the wooden floor as the

Crows regained their human form and finished off any patrons and whores

that were still alive. Devon sat in a corner and watched his parents and

friends as they worked. Crystal walked to the doorway and extended her arms

into the fire, pulling it back into her body through the palms of her hands.

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Serene and Jason watched the entire massacre through the viewing

window with great interest. The boy had not transformed along with the

others. He would learn soon enough. Serene wanted to take him while he was

still vulnerable. She had plans for him, plans that did not include his survival.

She was the mother and master of the armies of the the succubus demons.

She had been mated with Asmodeus, another General of demonic armies, but

had escaped him to live among those infected with Vampirism. Her beautiful

daughters, the succubae, had taken men and women before time was

measured and began the plague of vampirism on the planet. With the blood of

a living vampire, she could regain her full power over not only the armies of

the succubae, but also the incubus hordes of hell, her male offspring that had

been withheld from her by Asmodeus. She would create a world where she

would be lord and master. Her rule would be enforced by her children, long

unable to walk by daylight.

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Alissa and Olivia were finally warming up to their new friends. Olivia

had her sights set on Harvy's son, Cole Everette, attracted primarily to his

boyish good looks and hazel eyes that always seemed to have a smile in them

no matter what the situation was. The two sat together, talking about nothing

in particular, but enjoying each other's company. Cole stretched out and put

his arm around her. Olivia giggled and the two kissed for several seconds.

Alissa sat and talked with Jackie Reynolds, who was nearly twelve years old.

Alissa and Jackie had become friends almost immediately. The younger girl

had few people that were even close to her age and she was shy like Alissa.

Although Jackie was young, her eyes seemed much older than her years, her

sad eyes communicating that she was growing up too quickly. She had been

witness to her father's own death, he had been ripped apart before her very

eyes in a church massacre when the deacons hadn’t bound one of the

vampires tightly enough. Only she, her sister, Tracey, and their mother had

gotten out of the church alive. Her mother, Jude Reynolds, had severe

lacerations to her face and neck, but she had survived. They had joined the

survivalists when Harvey Everette and his family founded the group. Harvey

was a high ranking Marine veteran and he put his group through rigorous

daily work excercising and training in methods of killing vampires.

Ammunition was of good supply, but he did not want to use much of it for

target shooting. He already had picked Cole, Dale McDermott, and Jerry

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Wilton as his best riflemen. Dale was in good shape, being thirty-seven and

had once been a personal trainer for a gym before America had become a

nightmare. Jerry Wilton was forty-two and was once a Marine before he

became an Army Ranger. He looked young for his age, with sandy blonde

hair and blue eyes. His wife, Cher, also looked younger than her thirty years,

with black hair and large, dark, penetrating eyes.

Harvey strolled over to his son, interrupting Cole and Olivia's

affections.

"I want you to take a small group and scout out the town down the road here.

No girls, got it?"

Cole hopped down from the rock he and Olivia had been sitting on and

walked over to the fire where the men were warming themselves.

"I need three of you to come with me and scout out the town."

Jerry Wilton, his nephew Rick and his son Seth rose from their seats. The

four of them got their gear and Jerry slung his rifle over his back by it's strap.

They walked to the highway and started their short journey to the nearby

town.

The town seemed deserted. Garbage blew about in the street and there

did not seem to be even one window in any building that was still intact. Jerry

knew that if there were any vampires here that they would all be asleep. He

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was only worried about the human factor, there was no telling what people

would do if they came across any. The town was mostly suburban

neighborhood with a small business district.

Suddenly, from one of the darkened buildings came the sound of a man

screaming. The four survivalists froze, trying to figure out where the screams

were coming from. The boys waited for Jerry to tell them what to do. He

stood for a while, listening until the screaming stopped, then he pointed at a

warehouse and motioned for them to follow him.

It was very dark inside the warehouse, the only light came from the

wrecked doorway. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness they could see a

large group of humans crouched in a circle, passing something around. Jerry

looked hard and realized that they were eating what appeared to be a human

leg. They did not notice the four strangers standing by the door. Rick,

grabbed Jerry's shoulder and pointed to the far corner.

A man was hung by his wrists a foot from the floor, he was still alive,

As the scene became clearer, Jerry could see that large strips of flesh had

been peeled off the man's body and his bones were showing through in many

places. One leg was missing from the knee down, having been roughly sawed

off by the cannibals. A pool of sticky blood was spreading from the corner

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and Jerry realized that the man would not live much longer. He also realized

that they had to get out of the warehouse before they were

noticed. He motioned silently to the aghast boys to go back out the door just

as one of the cannibals noticed them.

The cannibal rose and yelled out something unintelligible to the rest of

his friends. Jerry and the boys reentered the street, looking around for

someplace to hide. The cannibals began to come out of the warehouse and

Jerry shot one in the head with his rifle. The other cannibals swarmed over

their dead comrade. Rick, Cole, and Seth also drew guns and began to shoot

at the hungry mob, bringing down the closest ones. Soon eighteen cannibals

were reduced to ten. A woman with crazed eyes shouted to the rest of them to

fall back. The cannibals withdrew, dragging their dead friends back into the

warehouse with them, forgetting Jerry and the boys. Apparently feeling that

they now had a good eating supply.

Even though Jerry felt that they should leave this town immediately,

they did have to try to gather as many supplies as they could. They scouted

out a grocery store, finding several dead, bloated bodies and some canned

goods. Jerry had Richard get a shopping cart and they piled the cans into it.

There was an Army Surplus store nearby and they checked it too. A skeleton

that must have once been the owner was slumped over the desk. The place

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was pretty well picked-over, but Seth found some 22 caliber bullets in cases

inside a medium sized box. This was put in the cart also. There was a mall

just down the street, so they decided it might be worth the trouble to check it

out also.

It was dark inside the mall and Jerry dug a flashlight out of his

backpack. Several of the stores were intact, with steel gates drawn over the

entrances. Jerry rooted through Seth's pack and got out a small hand saw. He

had Rick hold the flashlight while he sawed the locks apart. They piled

clothing, cooking utensils, knives, handheld CB's, and batteries on the off-

chance that they might still be good. Rick and Seth filled their pockets with

old candy to distribute among the rest of the teens.

When they arrived back at the camp Jerry spoke privately with Harvey

about the cannibles and what they had witnessed in the warehouse and the

short battle that followed. Harvey agreed that it would be best to break camp

and move on to someplace safer.

Crystal lay upon an old mattress while Todd inspected the injury to her

ribs. The bullet had gone all the way through and out the back, so there was

no bullet to dig out. She had exhausted herself by creating the wall of flame

so she was not healing as fast as she would have been able to otherwise. As

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he covered the wound back up he noticed that her eyes were fixed,

unblinking, upon the ceiling as if she was someplace far away from him. He

decided to let her rest.

Crystal could see Serene coming for her son. In her minds eye see

could see her coming closer every minute. The weakness from her injury was

fading and she knew that they were going to have to leave soon. She knew

that Serene was formulating some sort of plan for her son, but she did not

know what that was yet.

She only knew that it was not in his best interest.

The rest of the Crows and Rayge sat downstairs among the bodies of

their recent kills. Devon was trying to morph again. Seeing his parents and

freinds change inspired him to do so. He mimicked the incantation that he

heard the others say and his body flickered for a moment. His pulse raced

with the same fear that always held him back in the past, but he kept his

composure. He flickered again and he saw his hands lengthen, the nails

growing longer and more pointed, then they shrunk back to their original

shape.

He felt a surge of joy and hurried to his father to try again where someone

could see what he could accomplish. He concentrated on his hands again and

uttered the incantation and as Todd watched, the boy's arms and hands began

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to transform. The fur traveled up his arms to his shoulders. Devon became

excited and the transformation stopped, then faded.

"What happened? Why didn’t it finish?" Devon asked his father.

"You must remain calm and focused for the transformation to complete."

Devon sat down and tried to control his breathing, Todd wrapped one arm

around the boy's shoulders.

"You can do it, before long you will be able to morph into anything you want

to be."

Crystal rose from the mattress and slowly walked back down the stairs.

The sun would rise soon, and they had to move on to a safer place. Any one

of the people that escaped could come back with friends while they slept.

Devon rose and raced to her side.

"I did it mom, I got my arms to turn!" He embraced her, carefully avoiding the

bloody spot on her shirt.

"Thats great, Devon.......I knew you could do it." She returned his hug and

kissed his forehead.

They found a car outside the brothel that was in good shape and had a key

magnetically attached just inside the bumper. Crystal climbed into the back

seat with Devon and Todd, while Shane and Rayge took the front seats.

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Serene and Jason headed Southeast in the form of ravens. Jason knew

what Serene wanted to do, she never kept her thoughts from him. Jason

would follow Serene to the ends of the Earth, and do whatever she wished,

even when it came to his old friends. Still, he felt like a traitor. Despite his

loyalty to her, he missed his friends. This dilemna clouded his mind, and he

knew that Serene would read him and re-assert her control.

The survivalists found an abandoned airstrip with a few broken down

planes. They parked the semi outside and moved necessities inside one of the

buildings. They were heading south, and now were well out of Wyoming.

Colorado was not much different in terrain, they had high Mountains to their

West and wide open overgrown fields on all sides. The hanger was large

enough for them to park the semi in, so Harvey parked it and joined the rest

in the other building. His son, Cole and Olivia were sitting by each other

again, holding hands. Harvey knew that this relationship would not do any

harm to his son, Olivia seemed to be a sweet, sensitive, and compassionate

girl. His son had told him about what happened to her family, and she did not

seem to have any psychological problems stemming from that, but her

younger sister, Alissa was obviously scarred emotionally. She was different

from her sister, rough and tom-boyish, though shy, but being friends with

Jackie seemed to be a lot of help. The two girls were currently in a giggling,

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squealing wrestling match over some of the candy the boys had brought back.

Cole walked over to the heap of clothing that some of the suvivalists were

rummaging through and brought Olivia back a shirt and shorts set, wanting to

see her in them. She took them and gave him a light kiss on the cheek before

hurrying into an ajoining room to try them on. She re-emerged, looking as

stunning as expected, her long blonde hair contrasting with the midnight blue

velvet fabric. Cole caught her in his arms and the two playfully kissed.

Harvey sighed and walked over to sit with his wife, who had already picked

out some clothing herself and was inspecting a shirt.

"Joanne, what should we do about that."

He motioned toward Cole and Olivia, who were still holding onto each other,

mimicking a waltz.

"What can you do, just watch and hope that they dont do anything stupid."

"Thats what I thought you would say."

Harvey looped his arm around his wife and pulled her close, looking into her

eyes.

"Almost makes me feel that young again."

Joanne laughed, "You never got past that age, dear."

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They sat for a while, watching the others. Harvey had been picking up

survivors for months now. They were always appreciative of new members,

especially ones that were veterans or could fight. Young people like Alissa

and Olivia were welcome as well, in Harvey's mind they would be the next

generation of fighters against the vampires. He knew he needed more poeple

for this little army, but that would mean more mouths to feed and a steady

stream of supplies, he also knew that supplies were going to be harder and

harder to find. Hopefully any survivors he acquired would have supplies and

food of their own.

Night came and Harvey posted Jerry and Cole as watchmen at both

entrances of the building. The people were restless sleepers due to traumatic

past events and woke up easily. This was a good thing in their case. Harvey

knew that vampires had enhanced perception in all their senses. If any were

in the near vicinity they would be able to smell the living people. He had seen

the telecasts with the executions of vampires, but he had also seen on these

live telecasts the times when the vampires slaughtered everyone in the

churches. He knew that no matter how many loaded weapons they had and no

matter how well they fought, his survivalists were a feast for the vampires.

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Jerry slung his rifle over his shoulder and placed his flashlight on the

ground beside his chair. He would not be doing much sitting, night watchman

duty always made him nervous. He shone the flashlight into the corn field at

the edge of the airstrip, looking carefully for any movement. He saw none, so

he settled back into his chair. They were lucky to find this place, it was flat on

all sides with no mountains or cliffs. The line of sight was clear.

Cole was having trouble sitting himself. All of his thoughts were

centered on Olivia, but he did his best to keep watch. She was sleeping

inside, curled up with her sister, as was their habit. She was so fragile, but

strong inside. Cole wanted to protect her above all else. She deserved it after

all that she and Alissa had been through.

Rayge and Shane had been taking turns sleeping and driving all day,

but were feeling well enough to try to feed. They stopped the car outside a

run-down motel and everyone got out. Crystal's wound had healed completely

and she was feeling refreshed, though trouble with the remnants of her

dreams. Serene was coming closer. The nightmare that Crystal experienced

had involved more than just Serene, but also of horrifying demons. Todd read

her thoughts.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, just a bad nightmare."

"Looks to me like it's more than just a nightmare."

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"I hope it isn’t."

Todd pulled her close and embraced her. Devon, being the child that he was

despite his appearance, hurried over to get a hug too. Shane and Rayge had

already gone inside the motel to search for prey. Devon lost interest in

affection and ran after Shane and Rayge, hunger dominating his thoughts.

They searched the motel but found nothing more than two bodies. A man and

a woman had been tied to chairs with barbed wire. The woman was obviously

forced to see the man die, then left to die on her own. The man's face was

nothing but a ruin of mangled bone and flesh. It looked like he had been used

for target practice, then shot in the face with a hollow point bullet. These two

were useless to them, having obviously been dead for over a month.

Crystal suddenly sensed another vampire nearby and alerted the others.

They stopped searching and walked back outside the motel. The vampire was

looking through the windows of the car. Shane approached him.

"We don't want any trouble, so why don’t you move along."

Onyx considered this for a moment.

"Am I hearing this correctly? You aren't going to try to kill me?"

"Only if you try first."

"If I may ask, is there anything alive in that place?" Onyx asked, motioning to

the motel.

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"Someone is there, but they have been dead for quite some time. Doesn’t look

like our kind killed them either."

Rayge watched the conversation silently, waiting for Onyx to say

something to her. She had found a new friend in James, but Onyx was an old

lover. They had a relationship for almost a year, but ended up almost killing

each other because they could not come to terms of understanding. They were

both volatile and loved to fight, so their relationship had been a stormy one.

She turned away from the others and stood alone, sorting out her thoughts.

She hoped that Onyx would move on and not join with her new friends, but at

the same time she was excited to see him again. She looked back and saw

Devon talking with him, the boy was always friendly and interested in

meeting new vampires. Onyx smiled at the child and ruffled his hair. Devon

had a way of winning others over, even the solitary Onyx seemed to like him.

Crystal was wary of Onyx, he seemed a lot like Shane, except for his

long dark hair, but she could sense his nature. He was a very dangerous

vampire, though he did not seem to mean them any harm. He would make a

useful ally, and Devon, in all his innocence seemed to like this brooding

vampire. She would trust him for now, but she would have to watch his

actions very carefully.

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Olivia's attraction to Cole was growing by the day. He was muscular,

over six feet tall, with blondish hair and blue eyes that always seemed to have

a smile in them whatever his mood. When he did smile he made her feel like

she would melt. He was only a month older than herself. She noticed Harvey's

scrutiny and did her best to prove that she could be a benefit to the group.

Alissa was healing from the traumatic events that had happened in their lives,

but her nightmares kept Olivia close to her when they slept. She knew that

Alissa was re-experiencing the terror of the past few years. With this group of

survivors they did feel a sense of safety and security. She and her sister had

been prepared to die and be reborn as vampires, but they had been saved

from what could have been another tragic experience by these people. Now

Olivia and Alissa wanted to live, to be human.

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Out of Annihalation

Chapter 12

Serene was hungry. She and Jason had been flying for days without

nourishment. They were nearing their objective. Serene knew that the boys

powers were growing and they did not have much time to take him before his

full realization of his abilities. They were deep into Mexico now, and they

were likely to find healthy prey. They transformed once again into their

human-like forms and walked along a dirt road. They were nearing a small

chicken farm, and Serene noticed a loaded clothesline outside the small shack

that a dim light shone from. As they approached the house Serene shed her

robe. The empty feeling inside them was overwhelming and they and

approached the house. They could smell the living blood inside and they

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searched for an open window. Unfortunately all of the windows were latched

closed. Serene mentally laid out a plan and communicated it to Jason. She

walked, naked and unabashed to a bedroom window and Jason strode quickly

to a window near the door. Through it he could see a mexican man sleeping in

a rocking chair, a shotgun lay across his lap. Jason knew that he would have

to work quickly to avoid being shot. He smashed the window and leapt

through, transforming into a wolf as he moved. The man stood up from the

rocking chair and tried to aim the gun at the creature, but Jason brought him

down easily. The man tried to cover his throat with his arms, screaming

something in spanish. A woman hurried from the bedroom and grabbed a

poker from the fireplace. Jason lacerated the man's arms with his teeth in a

frenzy. Another crash came from the bedroom and Serene materialized behind

the woman, gripping her head and twisted it violently to the side, snapping it

and paralyzing her. Jason slashed the man's arms to the bone and drank from

the open wounds. Serene sank her teeth into the woman's skull, slicing her

scalp and crushing through the cranium. The man, in his efforts to protect his

throat, left his midsection open and Jason slashed his belly, burying his snout

in it. They fed until the two were dead.

Serene filled the bathtub with water and slid into it, calling Jason to

join her. He morphed back into human form and climbed into the large, claw-

footed tub. Once again, he marveled at Serene's beauty. She pressed her body

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against his affectionately, her hunger sated. The two rolled in the water, sex

was what Serene wanted now.

The two left the house and approached the clothesline, searching for

something to wear. Serene selected a black shirt and jeans, tearing out the

back of the shirt for her wings. Jason found a faded pair of pants and the two

dressed quickly. Serene wanted to find the boy, her appetites for blood and

sexual contact sated for the time being.

Onyx decided to stay with the Crows. He liked them, and was

especially fascinated with the boy, Devon. He knew that Rayge was

uncomfortable with him near, but he decided to disregard that. She was

obviously quite attracted to Shane, and Onyx felt a pang of jealousy. She was

a great lover, but if they had stayed together it was likely that one or the other

of them would be dead by now. They had parted ways long ago.

It was feeding time again, but they did not know where they would get fresh

blood. The countryside was barren of animals and humans were sparse.

Serene and Jason were once again on the wing when they spotted six

vampires traveling along one of the many dirt roads. Serene swooped down

and landed on the branch of a nearby tree. Jason followed her. He recognized

his friends, but three of the group were new. He tried to read Serene's

intentions, but found an unusual block. He saw Crystal look about, wild panic

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in her eyes and he realized that one of the new additions to the group was

Crystal's son, the living vampire that he knew Serene wanted.

Serene hopped to the ground and rose in her human-like form, her

wings spreading wide. She tilted her head back and laughed, the sound

echoing in the still air. Once again, her eyes shone bright red in the darkness

and transparent forms slipped from them. Serene's hair turned to flame as the

forms solidified. The beautiful succubus daughters of Lilith surrounded the

frightened Crows, laughing along with their mother. Jason watched the scene

in fascination, remembering what had happened to the Council.

Crystal looped her arm around her son and concentrated. Wings of

black feather grew from her back and she carried Devon high into the air. The

succubae followed her, clutching at the boy. Crystal concentrated again and

flame shot from her free hand, enveloping the red skinned demons. Laughter

turned to screams as the succubae fell to the ground, wrapped in magical

flame.

Serene was surprised by Crystal's power. She had not known a newly

reborn to have the strength to produce flame in such a way. Ordinary fire

would not have affected her demon daughters, but Crystal's flame was

damaging them. Several more took to the air, trying to take the boy. Crystals

strength was diminishing, but she fought the succubae valiantly. Her friends

were surrounded by the demons also, fighting for their lives with weaponry

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they had recovered from kills. Onyx slashed at a demon with a sword,

cleaving her head in two. Two more of the succubae leaped upon him, driving

him to the ground. He brought the point of the sword up over his own head,

piercing another demon-woman's skull. She slipped off his back and crumbled

to dust. The other Crows fired guns at the demons, causing very little effect.

Finally, Devon was wrenched from Crystals grasp and she fell to the

ground, her strength gone. Serene waved a hand and the ground opened up.

The succubae entered the opening with the struggling boy and Serene

followed them. Crystal dragged herself to her feet and dove into the hole,

closely followed by Todd and Shane. Onyx and Rayge also entered the

opening just before it slammed shut, leaving Jason alone in shock. He

realized that he had been the betrayer, used by Serene to obtain that which

she wanted.

The Crows and their friends found themselves alone in a huge void.

The Succubae and Serene were nowhere to be seen. Ahead of them they

could see what looked like a huge midieval kingdom surrounded by a wide

moat of fire. Above them was a fiery sky with black clouds. The heat in this

place was searingly intense.

Serene and several of her daughters entered the ruins of a temple

outside the Kingdom of Chaos. The boy had fainted and lay limply in Serene's

strong arms. One erect wall was outfitted with an upright coffin. Serene lifted

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Devon into it and one of the succubae fastened metal bands around his head,

midsection and both arms and legs. He began to stir, slowly awakening from

his slumber. His eyes opened and he noticed that he was restricted. He

struggled weakly at his bonds.

Crystal still felt too weak to walk, having spent all of her energy

battling the demons. Todd lifted her from her feet and carried her, walking

toward the kingdom. The others followed. Crystal stirred as they neared the

moat of fire.

"He is not there."

Todd was confused, where else would Serene have taken their son?

"Where is he?"

Crystal pointed at a ruined temple that none of them had noticed.

"We have to hurry, he does not have much time."

No longer did Serene have to keep a human-like form. The pale flesh

and red hair fell from her body and head. Her skin was bright scarlet beneath

and her feet became cloven hooves, her lower legs covered with thick black

hair. Her arms hung to her knees and her fingers stretched to nearly a full foot

long with great black hooked talons. Her hair was orange and blue flame and

her eyes turned a golden color. She was now Lilith, terrifyingly deformed and

horrific, wife of the three-headed Asmodeus, mother of the incubus and

succubus children of hell. Devon saw her for the first time and screamed. He

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had never seen anything so horrifying. Devon attempted to transform to

smoke to break free, but to no avail. He tried to remember the gestures and

words, but it did not help the situation. His hands were bound by the metal

bands.

Lilith approached him, grinning obscenely in a skull-like face with a mouthful

of razor sharp teeth. She stroked his cheek with her long fingers. It was

almost a comforting gesture. He screamed again and fought at his bonds.

Crystal and the others heard Devon's screams and they raced to the temple,

Crystal was back on her feet, still weak but recovered enough to keep up with

the others. Inside the ruins they spotted Devon inside a coffin-like apparatus.

A horrifying demon that Crystal knew was Serene was poised over the child.

Todd shouted at the demon-woman, trying to distract her. She turned and

hissed at him like a cat, motioning to her daughters to attack them. Onyx was

once again brought down by a succubus and Rayge grabbed a fistful of her

dark hair, prying the demon off him. He took advantage of the diversion and

cut off her head, leaving it dangling from Rayge's hand. She flung it aside and

took the steps leading into the temple two at a time, closely followed by

Todd, Onyx and Shane. Crystal regained her strength and entered the ruined

structure. Soon, the others were battling the daughters of Lilith again and

Crystal fought her way through the melee. Lilith already had her teeth in

Devon's neck as he struggled weakly. Crystal placed one hand on the

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creature's back and summoned up her remaining energy. Lilith was suddenly

enveloped in magical flame, her crimson skin melting off her bones. She

released Devon from her grasp and tried to put out the flames. Realizing that

nothing could save her, she leapt upon Crystal and the flames crawled over

the two of them, melding them together. Todd screamed for Crystal but it was

too late. She and Lilith were now one, combined, their spirits soared from

their blackening bodies, entering the gates of the medieval kingdom of hell.

The succubae, noticing that their mother was gone, withdrew and flew over

the moat, their screams of anger echoing in the searing hot air.

The boy had a badly ripped neck, but he was already starting to heal.

He knelt beside the jumble of blackened bones, unable to comprehend that his

mother was dead. Todd walked to his side and looped a comforting arm

around the boy's shoulders, pulling him close.

"She gave her life for you."

A loud splitting sound distracted them. The red sky opened up and they could

see the night sky through the crack. The moonlight shone into the void Shane,

Rayge, and Onyx transformed into crows and soared through the crack. Todd

held onto his son and only halfway transformed, lifting the boy out of the

bowels of hell with him.

A tall dark woman made her way through the trees of the Arkansas

forest. Her lover had been killed in a blast that temporarily trapped her inside

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the old mine shaft where they had hidden to sleep for a day. That all happened

several years ago. She had been able to feed once on a child who's curiosity

was fatal, giving her the strength she needed to clear enough of an opening to

escape. She knew that something terrible had happened to the world, but that

was only a minor thought in her sociopathic mind. For now........all she knew

was that she was hungry.

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