Unaware of the growing cloud that now hung above their heads, Kali and Glyndwr had taken leave of the family early one Saturday morning. Glyn and Kali both smiled as Glyn led a slow steady count to three. On three both laughed as they uttered a few pre-planned yet heartfelt words, “Happy 50th anniversary.” Glyndwr and Kali both let out a chuckle as they spun tentatively about the floor.

Kali’s laughter matched the soft look in her blue eyes. “You’re gripping my hands just as tightly as you did on our very first date.”

“That seems like a lifetime ago. Hard to believe there was ever a time when I had trouble talking to you.”

Kali’s grin grew as she began to loosen her grip on her husband’s hands. “Yes, “she let out on a breath of air, “it’s hard to believe we’ve been together this long considering how our first meeting went, but I’m happy I married you. I don’t have a single regret.”

Glyn leaned in and met Kali’s lips. They shared a gentle kiss just as they’d done 50 years ago and he still

felt chills run up his spine. When they pulled apart he smiled, “Nor do I.”

“Mama,” Lir interjected “when are Nana Kali and Glyn Glyn coming home?”

Tristen glanced up from the storybook with a raised eyebrow, “I thought that you wanted me to read to you Lir?”

Lir rocked back and forth from his place in the dirt, “I did. But well, I still love you, but Glyn Glyn’s better at telling stories. He makes all kinds of voices when he reads to me.”

Tristen rolled her eyes at her only son closing the book gently, “Well since you’re obviously not interested in hearing this story from me, how about I show you how to garden instead.”

Lir’s eyes had grown as big as saucers with excitement and he’d scrambled quickly to his feet. “You mean I can help you in the gardens now? Really? Could I help you everyday?”

Tristen found she didn’t even get a chance to refuse as Lir had already picked up a bag of fertilizer and was pouring it into the plots of dirt. She’d always hoped one of her children would inherit her love of the outdoors and plant life, but somehow she’d never thought it would be Lir. Her son had finished fertilizing an entire row before Tristen regained her voice, “Of course you could help me. And it looks like I’ll be able to take care of the bigger gardens now with how fast you’re working.”

Lir beamed up at his mother and began to pour the bag again begging as he worked. “Can I plant a tomato plant right here mom? Please?”

Tristen had of course given her blessing to allow Lir to plant his tomato plant at the back of the garden. But unfortunately Lir would have to wait a day or two to actually plant it as his mother hadn’t gone to the seed store yet. She’d promised that he could go with her the next day though and she’d show him how to pick out the best ones.

After they’d finished fertilizing the entire greenhouse, his grandparents arrived home from their anniversary outing. Lir had waved them over and pulled them both into the greenhouse to see his handiwork. Both then listened to their grandson’s plans for his tomato plant. “And do you think you could make sandwiches out of them Nana?” he asked as he caught Kali’s pitch.

“Sure. I’ll even show you how to make your own sandwich how about that?”

“Could I use the knife to cut them up all by myself?” Lir asked hopefully.

Glyn and Kali both laughed at Lir’s enthusiasm before Kali nodded, “Alright, but you’re going to have to promise to only use it when one of the grownups is around.”

While her younger brother was outside begging to be allowed to learn how to do anything and everything there was to be done, Rhiannon had just come into the living room of the newest family safe house. She’d come down to play on the piano to get away from the family guards who’d been driving her bonkers all morning, only to be stopped by her youngest sister Xanthe who had started tugging on her pants leg. “Rhia, read me stowy.”

Rhiannon knelt down beside her sister and took one look into Xanthe’s matching eyes and caved. She supposed playing the piano could wait a little while longer. Catching sight of a guard trying to follow her down the stairs, Rhiannon scooped Xanthe up in a quick spin and then darted out the front door snatching a book lying on the front table on her way out.

And it was on the front sidewalk that Glyndwr found her 15 minutes later reading one of his infamous stories to his youngest grandchild. He watched silently until Rhiannon had finished before he spoke, “Ready to go there Rhiannon?”

Rhiannon slowly closed the book and picked herself up off the ground, “To spend an afternoon with you? Always.”

Rhiannon had always loved outings to the local bowling alley with her grandfather. They’d started the little tradition one Saturday afternoon when she’d been seven. It had started out as just a way to get a rather precocious Rhiannon out of her parents hair for a few hours each week, but to Rhiannon they were the best hours of her week. Her father didn’t know it, but she’d always turned down hanging out with her friends on Saturdays because she didn’t want to miss out on spending some alone time with Glyn. “So how goes it there Rhiannon?”

Rhiannon smiled ear to ear. Her grandfather was the only person in the world that she knew of that called her by her full name. It was one of the hundred little things that he did that made spending time with him so wonderful. “Well, a lot of my friends have started talking about their life journey already.”

Glyn nodded, “I take it you’re worried about it?”

Rhiannon nodded, “It’s not that I don’t want to go. I’m just not really sure what to do when I get there. I mean I suppose that’s part of the point of going in the first place, but well El and the others all seem to know what they want out of life already.”

Glyndwr smiled softly, “Don’t worry about that Rhiannon. I didn’t know much about what I wanted to do with my life when I was your age either. You’ll figure it out. When what you’re meant to do comes along it’ll leave you wondering why you ever worried about not figuring it out in the first place.”

“Thanks Glyn Glyn.” Rhiannon beamed. “I guess well you know how much I hate to feel like I’m the only one.” Her grandfather always knew exactly what to say to ease her mind, and she wasn’t ashamed at all to admit to him when she felt weak or scared.

Glyn nodded, “I do know. Now why don’t we put all this stuff about you growing up into a young lady behind us for a little while and go bowling?”

“Well okay, Just for you I won’t mention having a boyfriend, learning how to fight, or anything else that might remind you I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“I appreciate it.”

Glyn went first expertly sending his ball down the lanes. Rhiannon watched from the background as her grandfather’s ball rolled straight down the middle of the lane.

The pins crashed to the floor with a thud and Glyn began his celebratory dance. Most teenagers would probably be embarrassed to be witness to such a scene, but Rhiannon loved every second of it. When she was with Glyndwr all the pressures of her life just floated away.

She cheered and laughed from the sidelines not caring if someone walked in and caught her being silly. Okay maybe she’d feel a little bad if Randy caught her jumping up and down and dancing a jig, but there was no need to worry about that anyway. Almost no one in town used the alley anyway.

Rhiannon took her turn next and as it often did the ball slipped from her fingers bouncing a bit on the wood. Glyndwr stood just to the side his ever present encouraging smile still in place.

Her second throw went more poorly than the first the ball landing in the gutter and not hitting a single pin despite all of Rhiannon’s concentration into the second throw.

Glyndwr stood just at her shoulder and managed to catch her off guard with his words. “I’m proud of you Rhiannon.”

Rhiannon felt a warm feeling crawl throughout her whole body and a smile played at her lips and her eyes began to shimmer with tears. She loved that to Glyndwr it didn’t matter if she messed something up. There wasn’t and had never been any pressure to be anything more or less than what she truly was. He loved her, and of everything big or small that Glyndwr did for Rhiannon that was the one thing that meant the most to her in the world.

“Same time next week Rhiannon?”

“You know it.”

As Rhiannon and Glyndwr returned home, Lir was just settling down in the dirt at one of the village markets. His grandmother had insisted that Tristen spend the afternoon with him and assured the younger woman that she in no way minded taking care of the twins until Glyn and Rhia got back.

Tristen settled into the dirt across from Lir. “Did you have fun playing with your cousin Zeric?”

Lir nodded enthusiastically, “Z’s a lot of fun. He showed me all his robots, and they work really well too. They don’t shoot sparks or anything. He even let me keep one of them.”

“That was very nice of him. You did remember to say thank you to Uncle Ravi and Aunt Tala for letting you come over right?”

“Uh, well.”

Tristen frowned. “Lir, you really should”

Lir cut his mother’s rebuke off with a round of throaty giggles. “I’m only teasing. I remembered.”

Tristen shook her head. Her son was such a prankster. She often wondered where he’d gotten his carefree and adventurous spirit, since she was quite certain it hadn’t come from either herself or Toren. But one thing she was certain of, his huge grin and heart had come from Toren.

He rocked back and forth in the dirt, a common habit of his, as he continued, “I hope I didn’t hurt you the other day.”

“I really didn’t mean to throw the ball that hard honest. I’m just so used to playing with dad.”

Tristen smiled at the memory. The ball had hit her and despite how bad it had looked when it had come flying out of her son’s hand, it hadn’t hurt that badly. In fact there wasn’t even a bruise on her leg. There wasn’t a mean bone in her son’s body and therefore even his hardest pitches weren’t all that hard (well any that were thrown at her anyway) ““That’s alright Lir. I’m fine really.”

“Mom? What was it like meeting a dark elf?”

Tristen tilted her head and frowned at the question. Not because she was angry with Lir for asking it, but more because she wasn’t sure how to answer it. How did she really feel about meeting the Matriarchs? She wasn’t entirely sure. She supposed meeting Mae and Gem had been almost pleasant, but Jules had certainly left a bad taste in her mouth. Tristen finally settled on a response. She spoke slowly, “It was a rather nice trip. I think my favorite part was getting a chance to get to know your Aunt Iruviel a little better.”

Lir leaned back on one hand his lips twitching as a fly flew by his head. “Wouldn’t Iruviel be a cousin three or four times removed instead of an aunt?”

Tristen started laughing, “Sorry Lir, but I’m not all that good with family tree business. For all I know you could be right. Whatever she may be, I enjoyed getting to know her. It was nice to get to see why your father and Silvana have such a soft spot for her.”

“I’m glad you had fun. Especially since you had to miss Rhia’s birthday party. I missed you being there.”

“I missed being there too Lir.” Tristen was surprised by Lir’s sudden change in mood. His face had fallen and he looked quite distressed. “Lir what’s wrong?”

Lir’s eyes raised to meet his mother’s, “It’s just talking about Rhia’s party reminded me that..”

“Reminded you that what?”

Lir looked back at the ground. When he spoke his vocie was barely above a whisper, “I don’t want Uncle Ryker to die.”

Tristen reached across the sand to place a comforting hand on his knee. Once again she realized that another Vijayakar had found a connection with their resident vampire. Ryker truly was one of a kind and even though he was quite different from anyone else she’d ever met, Tristen adored him and considered him a very dear friend, and obviously even after one meeting so did her son. “Neither do I. And I know Iruviel and the new doctor Mr. Mendez are doing everything they can to help him to get better soon.”

Jonathon entered the room tentatively uncertain of what the day’s visit would hold. He gave a forced smile as the vampire looked up at him. Jonathon found that his emotions were conflicted when it came to his current situation. One part of him was curious to get to know this Ryker since he might very well hold answers he very much needed and desired, while the other was wary to trust him. Jonathon had learned from experience to be very cautious when it came to approaching vampires. He cleared his throat and tapped his hand absently against his jeans. “The nurse told me you slept all day today. That’s good.”

Ryker had placed the book away that he’d been reading as the young man had entered. He studied his expression with silence. He kept his hands still and he hardly moved at all. He noted the young man seemed quite nervous in his presence, and though he had no evidence to support his current opinion, Ryker had a sense that this half-vampire before him had been mistreated by his kind at some point in the past. He was of course not wrong. He nodded at Jonathon’s comment. “Yes, I do seem to be on the mend at last.” His usual cheeky grin crept onto his face lighting up his eyes, “No offense kid, but being cooped up in here the past week’s been a real buzz kill.”

Jonathon had moved to the other side of the bed and sat down on top of a pile of stacked pillows. Normally he had no trouble sitting directly beside one of his patients, but they weren’t vampires. He forced himself to look over at the vampire and to keep his hands still in his lap. “Your skin.” he commented, “its different. Are you alright?”

Ryker turned his head to face the young man and had to suppress a deep laugh as the young man turned his eyes to look at the opposite wall. He understood in one sense that this Jonathan was uncomfortable around him, but Ryker still found the kid’s obvious habits mildly amusing. After all it wasn’t like he was really all that intimidating. Instead of laughing he focused in on the comment at hand. “Yeah, side effect of getting older. See vampires like me are likely to develop complications ie Daywalker Syndrome when we enter a new phase of our lives. The waking up in the middle of the day and nearly killing ourselves isn’t normal procedure for aging up, but well the skin tone change is. Nothing to worry about.”

Ryker slid slowly to the edge of the bed as he finished speaking. Jonathon quickly scrambled to his feet. Ryker chuckled, “I’m fine kid. Honestly, I’m just tired of laying down all the time.”

As he stood up he waved the young man over. “Come on I promise I don’t bite. Heh, that was probably in bad taste and not completely accurate. Well I do seem to stick my foot in my mouth at least once a day. What I should have said is, I won’t bite you.”

Jonathon stood across from Ryker and gave him an incredulous look. This vampire was certainly different from any he’d ever met. This one seemed to have a sense of humor, perhaps an odd one, but still.

Ryker finally grew tired of dancing around the bush. He let out a laugh trying to take some of the tension out of the air. “Look kid. I’m not sure what other vampires you’ve met in your lifetime have been like, but I can almost certainly guarantee I’m nothing like them. I rather like half-breeds seeing as how two of them are my closest friends.”

Jonathon apologized, “I know. Let’s just say I have never had any positive interactions with vampires. My father died before I was even born and as far as I know his clan never approved of his marriage to my mother. Well I mean it’s not like they were ever around when my siblings and I got older. I’d really rather not go into the details right now.”

“Hey kid no problem. If I just met me, I wouldn’t want to pour out my life’s story either. I’d sort of figured you’d had a rough time of it growing up, most half-vampires do come from a troubled background. I can probably figure some of it out on my own. Truth be told Sea Baby and Toren are probably the only ones I’ve met who are semi-normal.”

“This is probably none of my business, but why do you call her that?”

Ryker looked confused, “What Silvana? Oh well ya know her old man named her after water and I just thought it was whimsical.”

Jonathon laughed, “Silvana wasn’t named after the water. Her name meaning has something to do with nature.”

Ryker looked stunned, “Really? I could have sworn….ah drats I did it again. I got the generations mixed up again. Toren told me his Aunt were named after water not Si. And to think I’ve been believing all these years I’d been clever. ”

Ryker noticed the room was getting brighter as the young man’s laughter grew at his expense. “That is one neat little side effect you have there J. I always thought empathy would be a nice gift to have especially since you’d be less likely to step on people’s toes.”

Jonathon smiled. Silvana had been right, this Ryker was very easy to talk to. “So what is your gift?”

“I don’t have one. I was born ungifted and covenless.”

Jonathon’s eyes grew wide. “You don’t have a clan?”

Ryker shook his head, “Well not officially. I consider myself part of Toren’s family, but no idea how he feels about that. Never bothered to ask. Guess I’m just too used to rejection.”

“You mean you’ve never lived with other vampires?”

“Well, I did hang around with Toren’s grandfather. He was always good about letting me stay with his clan whenever I wanted, but after he died I never went back. Figured the rest of them wouldn’t want me around. Then I went looking for Oloros’ family cause Toren’s anscestor and I were pretty tight once. Long story really. ”

“You know what J? I bet we can help each other out right about now. Back at my house there’s some books in my library about recovering from my condition. I’m starting to feel weak in the knees again, so why don’t you run over there and get them for me? And while you’re there feel free to snoop around in my collection for anything you might like to know. If I can help explain anything let me know. We outcasts need to stick together ya know what I mean?”

Jonathon leaned in close his eyes truly growing wide hardly knowing what to say. “Thank-you. You have no idea…I mean sure I’d be happy to get the books for you.”

“Great. I’ll make a list for you right now.”

Ravi turned to glance out the side window of the Kim residence. He had been on guard duty since after lunch. The afternoon had seemed eerily quiet and something inside him was on edge. He had come to the front of the house because he’d been sure he’d heard something in the bushes. However, his eyes could make out no form in them, but still his heart was racing. And then he heard a step just behind his back.

Ravi spun quickly to face his foe, but he was too late. Avri Fairchild grabbed his arm and suddenly a wave of pain flooded through his body. As the electrical charges coursed through his veins, the gypsy general did everything in his power to remember his training. He let out a scream of warning, hoping the women and children inside would have time to run to safey.

Avri laughed gleefully to himself as he watched his former commander black out. The man had remained standing and wasn’t dead, but it didn’t matter. Avri would be gone by the time he regained his senses. Now it was time to find his prize.

Avri had darted into the house catching a glimpse of Lyrika near the stairs a green little girl sitting at her feet. He made a lunge toward the zombie who was frozen to the spot only to be stopped by Kaya. The alien stood between Lyrika, her daughter, and the family’s enemy. Avri simply let Kaya grab his arm and he laughed as the electricity flooded into her body. He watched with satisfaction as Kaya thudded to the floor.

Kaya and Ravi’s screams were still fresh in her ears, as Lyrika grabbed Edith and began running up the stairs. She was scared, but she wasn’t going to let that bad man hurt the babies. She could hear Avri screaming at her to stop running, but this only made her run faster.

Avri growled as he tripped over a skate that Lyrika had kicked down the stairs to to slow him down. He rounded the corner just as his target slammed the door of a bedroom in his face. He heard the sound of a lock falling into place. Like that was actually going to stop him. He’d just kick the door in.

Lyrika stood inside the bedroom she now shared with Edith and Omri who was safely in one of the cribs. On the floor Edith had started to cry, “Momma?” Lyrika wanted to cry too. She could hear Avri kicking on the door and she could see the wood was starting to crack. She wished the vampire man would come back, or that her Daddy would somehow come and save her.

Jonathon slowly made his way up the iron stairs. He was so excited to look through all the books. There was no telling what all he would be able to find out! And then the half-vampire nearly fell over as a rush of fear and anger assaulted his mind. It was excruciatingly painful, and he could tell right away that something was horribly wrong.

He swung open the door to find a man standing still as a statue against the front entry wall. Now that he was standing inside he could suddenly hear the sounds of screaming and loud banging coming from upstairs.

He ran into the main hallway and found Ryker’s wife upon the floor. The dark feelings were getting worse, and as he hit the stairs, Jonathon took them three at time. He wasn’t about to let anyone else get hurt.

He rounded the corner and came face to face with Avri Fairchild. He grabbed the man by the shoulder and forced him away from the door. He squared off with the other and demanded, “What do you think you’re doing!”

Avri gave the other man a disinterested look and then recognition dawned. He’d seen this thing at his former wife’s house yesterday. “So are you the bastard that my wife cheated on me with?”

Jonathon let out a growl as he suddenly realized who this man was. “You stay the hell away from Silvana! And she didn’t cheat on you. You were under the effects of a potion and knocked her up yourself.”

“And I suppose that you think you can stop me do you? Well I’m sorry, but you don’t stand a chance.”

Avri grabbed Jonathon’s hand and squeezed. His laughter rang as he watched Jonathon’s body writhe as the electrical current entered his body. In just a minute this last nuisance would be dead. He was on such a roll, that maybe he’d go finish of that bitch of an ex-wife before he left!

Then something changed. Avri pulled his hand away from Jonathon as he felt his stomach clench and a hot fire shoot up his spine. Jonathon watched as Avri’s eyes grew large and a wave of sudden fear rolled off of him.

He took a step back and watched helplessly as Avri crumpled to the floor eclectic sparks covering his entire body. He was confused as to what was going on. One moment he felt a blinding pain running through his body, and then he felt his body send the electricity back out and into Avri.

The smell of burning flesh hit his nostrils causing Jonathon to want to vomit. After a moment Avri lie still though he smoked for a while after he’d died. Jonathon stared at him stunned for a time before finally moving the body into a side room so that it was out of sight.

He’d heard footsteps on the steps and whirled around to face the guard he’d found in the entry way. “Dr. Mendez? What are you doing here?”

Jonathon explained that he’d been asked by Ryker to get some books from his library and how he’d found Avri upstairs. “Are you alright, sir?”

Ravi nodded weakly. He’d failed to keep Kaya safe. She was dead. He’d checked her body at the foot of the stairs. She hadn’t stood a chance against the gypsy weapon. He swayed on his feet slumping into Jonathon’s waiting arms. “I need to..”

“You need to come to the hospital.”

But Ravi had refused to go to the hospital and leave the family alone again. He’d ordered Jonathon to call the main house and to treat him at the Kim residence. Later that evening Jonathon left Toren and Ravi to discuss funeral arrangements and other matters. He’d gone straight home wishing to relieve the babysitter of Jason.

Jonathon had made his way into his living room and had been so lost in thought he barely noticed the old man sitting on one of the sofas. Glyndwr however had noticed him and had in fact been waiting since he’d gotten the news about the days events for the young man to arrive home. “Mr. Mendez I’d like to have a word with you.”

Jonathon was surprised to see the old man in his home and noticed that he bore a striking resemblance to Toren. How had Glyndwr Vijayakar gotten into his home? “I came over with Silvana since she wanted to check on you after she heard the news.”

Jonathon nodded grateful for the explanation. Though then he became a little nervous since this was the father of the woman he was currently dating. He had not yet been formally introduced to anyone except Iruviel Ceberlandon, and had already received a very firm warning about mistreating Silvana.

The two men had settled on having a cup of coffe on the back porch as to not disturb the boys. “I’ve been wanting to thank-you for all the help you’ve been recently Mr. Mendez.”

Jonathon nodded mutely. He hadn’t been that much help, after all Ryker’s wife had died. And he was still unsettled by the fact that a man, even if he was a bad one, was dead apparently because of his actions. “I was brought up to help out whenever I can.”

Glyndwr let out a cough, “Excuse me. Went down the wrong tube there. Well, I suppose you now the other reason why I was wanting to meet you.”

“Because of Silvana.”

Glyndwr nodded giving the young man a soft smile. “You can’t blame an old man for wanting to make sure the man his only girl is stepping out with is on the up and up. Especially considering all she’s been through.”

Jonathon retuned the smile. “No sir. I can’t.”

“But I think it’s safe to say you’re a good fellow. I’m glad my little girl’s found someone who makes her happy. I missed seeing Baby Si smile.”

Jonathon took another sip of his coffee. “It’s been wonderful meeting another half-vampire.”

“Ah yes, she mentioned you were an empath and that your father was a vampire. I do admit my wife Kali is dying to meet you too.” He let out a soft chuckle. “Feel free to come over anytime. Oh and don’t let Toren scare you. My son’s really very kind. He just has a tendency to wear the same unreadable facial expression wherever he goes. I know he may seem stand-offish but he’s really not once you get to know him. We’re all pretty friendly folk. Well have a pleasant evening Mr. Mendez.”

Glyndwr had then stood and left Jonathon to finish his coffee alone. He couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander back to Ryker.

The last he’d seen the vampire, was standing outside his wife’s newly marked grave. He’d seemed so broken and had seemed to need Jonathon’s special gift. But he’d been unable to bring himself to interrupt the man. He felt quite certain that if he’d used his gift, Ryker would somehow be able to see the blood that now stained his hands.

She’d cried when she overheard Toren and Ravi talking. Momma Kaya was dead. And then she’d seen the vampire man crying outside her window. It was all her fault! And there was nothing she could do to make everyone feel better. And then she remembered her daddy’s special phone. She could make the vampire man and the babies happy again. She’d go home and bring Momma Kaya back with her daddy’s phone. After all her momma had brought her back. No one saw her go.

The next day the rest of the family excluding Ryker for obvious reasons gathered to reflect on Kaya’s death. The funeral was led by Kaya’s father Christian. As he spoke, everyone in the group reflected on their own personal experiences with Kaya McCarthy Kim.

“My daughter Kaya has been a blessing not only to me, but to everyone gathered here today. Kaya was a remarkable young woman who would want to be remembered most as a loving wife and mother. She not only raised her own children, but “raised” a little girl that wasn’t her own. I like to think that she had a positive impact on Lyrika’s life and I hope that she is safe and well.

“Of course Kaya also knew how to have fun. She had a wonderful sense of humor and her bright smile and sunny attitude will probably be one of the things that I will miss the most.”

“In the end my daughter was killed because she was willing to give everything in her power to protect those that mattered to her the most.”

“But my daughter died with no regrets. She lived everyday as if it would be her last. She was truly a wonderful daughter that I and her mother are extremely proud of. We will miss her, but we choose to reflect on the good memories as we know this is what she would want.”

“I thank each and everyone of you here today for what you gave our daughter. I know that you touched her life in a special way just as she touched Alfhild and I with the short years she was with us.”

As Christian fell silent, the group began to pay their last respects and offer the condolences to them. Alfhild London’s ever perceptive eyes caught sight of a lone figure standing off on his own. There were some things yet that needed to be said.

She moved gracefully over to the back of the graveyard where Toren stood apart from the rest. “Do you know what I’ve learned in my life Toren Vijayakar? I’ve lost many people that I care for: my father, mother, step-father, brother, and now one of my daughters. I don’t know why they had to die when and how they did. But I do know that everyone must die sometime. I’ve learned you can’t stop death, and really we aren’t meant to. You weren’t meant to stop Kaya from dying Toren, we all know that. You had the dream to prepare yourself and the rest of us for what was inevitably going to happen. Maybe it took you a while to understand that for yourself, but it took me a while to understand it all as well.”

Toren stared into the open flames.

Alfhild smiled slowly and continued, “Some things are out of everyone’s control, even half-vampires. Bad things happen in this world Toren, but I don’t think death is meant to be one of those bad things. I do think though that Gal somewhere along the way started to believe that it is a bad thing and has unfortunately messed with the natural order of things. You go and make sure my little girl and that sweet child find their final peace.”

Toren nodded.

As she left him alone, Alfhild called back softly, “ Don’t worry, you won’t.”

Toren stared after her amazed that his Aunt seemed to know so much about what was about to happen.

Jules stared out across the river and back toward her home which was now burning to the ground. While the others of her clan were quietly discussing their next move she stood apart. Those responsible for this travesty were going to pay. Oh yes they would pay dearly.