Death in the City of Lights

[Call me J]

The moon hung over Ettermire like it was a piece of paper pasted upon a school chalkboard. It glowed lightly, but just ever so lightly. It was almost as if the Mya favored the thieves by making the moon so discrete. The slavers who were carrying a prized cargo back into their warehouse in Ettermire were certainly gratefully for it. It had been a bountiful haul for them. They had caught a number of Coronians, and they were just about done with their work. All they had left was one last cage they had to put in the basement of their building, the crown jewel of their expedition. More than any other of their victims, the expected this one would collect a great prize.

Tomorrow in the afternoon, when the drow police were sleeping, they would hold an auction for the slaves they had collected, and they looked forward to reaping the benefits of their big haul.

That was of course, if Jame didn’t stop them.

The green skinned dragon’s roar reverberated through the sky, practically causing the moon itself to shake, He flapped his wings, practically blotting out the sky as he swooped down on the slavers. They panicked, unaware of how to react, and before they had even drawn their weapons they had been burned to a crisp. The dragon landed and a few seconds turned into a tall human. The converted dragon kept his face down, tied a kerchief over it so as to remain anonymous and then turned around.

The half dragon who had just destroyed the slavers was Jame Whitizard, known as Joule and Rafe in Sine Nomine. He now knelt down to examine the ashes of what was left of the slavers. “Vampires!” he said with a scowl. Unlike normal dark elves, they had been burned to a crisp by his fire breath. All that had remained was ashes.

Jame pulled off the curtain that had covered the slave’s cage. He examined its contents carefully. “You’re safe now,” he said. “Thanks to Sine Nomine. If you want, leave here and never come back. If you want revenge, then come with me, and we’ll destroy these slavers and their business.” He offered a polite smile, but it was hidden underneath his kerchief. The only thing visible was his red eyes. “Either way, the slavers probably stole your weapons, so if you want them, you’ll probably have to come inside with me. Unless if you’re lucky and one of these slavers had stolen them...” He pointed at the miscellaneous weapons that were mingled among the ashes.

However, Jame had a good view of the man he had rescued. He could tell that the almost slave was roughly his height, and had hair that was startlingly white. He would have made a good ally for running through the warehouse, or perhaps even another member of Sine Nomine.

In truth, Jame’s motivations for taking down the warehouse were not completely altruistic. Sine Nomine needed more members, and ransacking a house of slaves meant that there would be a great chance of gaining more members for the cause.

However, Jame’s allies for this mission were not others in Sine Nomine. He would have loved for Rainee to be there, but they had once again fallen out of touch. Instead, the only ally he had now was a vampiress who seemed to have a vendetta against the same slavers.

“Coast’s clear Sivi,” Jame called out. “The flames have burned down.”

It was time to destroy the warehouse.

(Bunny approved. Also, thread closed.)

[Winterhair]

Vincent had been weak. He blamed himself, and rightly so, for being captured within inches of reaching a village of Akashima. In reality, he had simply pushed himself too far and had collapsed near the outskirts of a small village, in the dead of night.

The next thing he knew, he woke up to the feel of steel bars against his naked back, for he found his coat had been removed, and the absent feeling of his blade missing at his side. Of course, like the caged animal he was, he did the first thing that came to mind. He struck out at the cages, howling, demanding to be released, but the curtain covering his cage blotted out both any vision of his captors, and the most he got was a kick in the ribs and a harsh yell for him to shut his trap.

Day and night he and his captors traveled, and Vincent felt time slipping away as he lost count of the number of days. Not that it mattered, but it was one thing he could hold on to, now that he had lost his blade as well. It hadn't been anything special material wise, but the long, saw-like no-dachi had been his constant companion for years, and he felt like something had been taken away from him personally.

One night, however, as far as Vincent could tell through the curtain, a disturbance wrestled through his captors, and a huge wind passed through the cage as he heard the thumping of something gigantic overhead. Immediately, instinct called forth his hand to his side, where he expected his blade to be, but alas, it was not there, and the half-naked swordsman again cursed his own incompetence for allowing such a thing to happen to him.

Screams met his ears, and for a brief moment Vincent allowed himself some joy before the absence of his blade again brought itself to his attention. So, instead, all he could do was block out the noises as best he could and focused on trying to find a way out of his prison, as his guards had already bruised his fingers from previous attempts.

The smell of burning flesh and the sound of a earth-shaking roar soon met Vincent's senses and he wondered, momentarily, what sort of beast was out there. Not once did he think that the creature could kill him as well with the murderous flame it must be able to produce, as he had not smelled flame before. Then, as soon as he thought he had a chance of getting out, since the lock he had been working on with his powerful fingers, the curtain over his head suddenly flew off and he immediately launched himself backwards against the cage wall, his fists lifted up in a martial arts position even though he was sitting against the cold metal bars.

A man with a hankerchief over the lower half of his face greeted the swordsman, and for a moment Vincent considered that his man was one of his captors. However, the man's next words told him two things: 1) That this man was not his enemy...for now. And 2) A rebellion of some sort by some group was under way.

Vincent could have cared less about anything else his captor said, but the mention of weapons and the missing presence of his serrated blade made him listen more attentively than if they had been in a less dangerous situation. Quickly, the swordsman scanned the area for the beast that he had heard, but there was no signs of it, just ash and the fallen bodies of drow.

Drow? Vincent was momentarily stunned as he gazed at his captors' bodies, but soon shook his head as he cleared his thoughts. It didn't matter why he had been captured, simply that he had to get out of this fucking place and find his weapon. It sounded like, though, a battle was to be fought, and he still wanted revenge for his weapon being taken in the first place.

"Whatever." Vincent spoke, a soft but masculine voice undertoned with weakness and irritation born from that weakness. "Just get me the fuck out of here, and I'll fight."

[Nightspoison]

(All bunnies that I use of Sivienna and Rianna through Nightspoison's posts and through Nightsangel posts have been approved by me since both our my characters.)

“Dragon! Miss Mizami get out of here now!” Shouted a young blue haired vampire as he moved to push the red haired seductress into a nearby crate. He then rushed forward shouting “Get them out of here! We need the money from this haul! Quickly tak…” His words were cut short as the dragon’s red hot breathe scorched the poor young vampire’s body, turning it to ash.

There were shouts and screams around the small encampment. Fires had just been lit for the night. Ri knew that they had only stopped here for the night to avoid the guards. However, the stiff dry ground was not to her liking. There were trees covering the encampment, their glossy leaves giving them shade for when morning hit. Furthermore, the group of vampire slavers had been ensured by their prospective clientele that the area where they were meeting was safe.

Safe my ass! Rianna though now snidely as she tried to get comfortable inside the boxes cramped area. The strong smell of crackers permeated around the exotic vampirism’s body, as she finally heard the screams die down. Sniffing, she could smell the scent of the dragon, but it was slowly changing. A coy smile crept to her face as she thinks A human eh? Not so bad…its only a halfing…easy prey now…. Moving to kick the crate’s top of,the red haired beauty moved to wriggle out of the small box. She was cursing Marlon for his rash decision. Sure he had saved her, but she sure didn’t appreciate the lack of tact he had used.

Once she was back into the cool night air, Ri moved to study what she thought of as her next meal. Her blue eyes brightened as she saw how handsome he was Mmmm a tall and handsome one eh? He must taste yummy! As he moved to talk to a white haired boy, one that they had caught earlier, she frowned but put it aside. Putting her elbows onto the splintered boxes top, she watched as the man moved with authority. A smile curved on her lips as she purred to herself Oooo he’s even a soldier! Even better! Daddy always did say that warriors blood tasted like sweet wine! Well then its time to get to work! Moving to place her face mask on Ri moved to slip into the tree’s shadows.

However, before she had even moved two feet, another scent drifted onto the cool wind. This scent was more familiar then that of the alluring half dragon in front of her. Cursing her luck she hisses” Damn it! Why does she have to show up now? Just when I was about to get a free meal?” Cursing her luck Rianna pivoted on her feet, kicking up some bright green leaves as she stalked into the deep forest. She knew who this was, the f first scent she had smelled was as familiar as her mother’s traditional scent.

Moving until she was standing in a 5 by 5 feet clearing, she found the remnants of a small fire. Looking around at the abandoned camp site she shouts “SIVIENNA! I KNOW YOU’RE HERE! NO USE BOTHERING TO HIDE! ARE YOU WITH THAT KNIGHT? THE ONE WHO FREED MY CATTLE FOR SALE?’

Tapping her foot, Rianna stuffed the cotton face mask back into her satchel. Growling under her breathe she waited a good five minutes before a soft voice said.

“Ah Rianna…I should have figured! Getting paid top dollar again? Or did daddy send you? Saying that if you killed me he’d make sure you were rewarded greatly?” The purple haired vampiress was crouched on a thick branch, a small orange ball of fur standing poised and growling on her shoulder.

Rianna shrugged elegantly as she murmurs “Would you kill me if I said both?”

Sivienna laughed hollowly as she hisses “Your too easy to read dear sister. Now then how about I say no, you won’t be reaping any rewards tonight!

Rianna whipped her sais into an offensive position a catty smile on her face as she murmurs “Bring it! I’ve been practicing! I won’t let you beat me this time!”

[Nightsangel]

The breeze was cool and warm, Sivienna had been riding on Serenity’s back when Rafe had swooped down and breathed fire onto the slaver’s caravan. She could feel the heat from here as she circled around the encampment, watching as the tents and the vampires themselves burn up from the heat of the fire. Breathing a sigh of relief she mutters to Serenity “Glad I’m not on the back end of that fire breathe.”

Serenity let out a nervous little squeak as she murmurs “Same here. Though something doesn’t seem right.” Tilting her big furry head, Serenity points at a young blue haired vampire boy who was pushing a female vampiress out of sight. A flash of bright red hair caught Sivi’s attention as she groaned and hissed “I should have known!” Moving through the clear bluish black sky, Sivi makes her way through the forest shouting “Good! You take care of things at the camp Rafe. I’ve got my own personal business to attend to!”

She then sprinted into the tree tops, closing her eyes as scratchy branches scraped at her tender pale skin. Shaking her head she murmurs “Ugh…she always give me such trouble. Why can’t she just be a good girl and stay out of business like this?’

Serenity let out a little bark as her eyes were cold as she said softly “She won’t mistress. You know your half-sister! She likes money…she also is your daddy’s precious little pet. He trained and molded her well into the perfect daughter that he wanted!”

Sivienna snorted through her teeth as Serenity landed neatly on a thick dark brown branch. Staring at the Oak tree, Sivienna’s light lavender eyes studied the leaves as she said blandly “I know, but Ri should know better. Daddy truly doesn’t love her, he can’t! He isn’t capable of that emotion!” the night vixen then pushed her hand forward and punched the tree, her anger evident as a shadow flare of magic engulfed the young vampiress.

“Mistress! MISTRESS! “Serenity barked as her form begin to shrink, once she was tiny again, she moved to Sivi and pushed through the flare of magic, wincing a bit as her soft orange fur stood on end she hisses” Calm yourself! If Rianna is here you can take care of her! Rafe won’t have to deal with her vile nature if you get her out of here!”

As the night’s shadows lengthened, Sivienna heard a rustling through the forest, as if a small foot was making its way slightly through. Recognizing the scent, Sivi sighs as she murmurs “Looks like she already knows I’m here. Oh well, might as well get this over with!”

As the red haired night beauty appeared into the clearing, Sivienna studied her sister. She was the same, those greedy blue eyes, the slight posture that meant she wanted the world to bow at her feet. The way she was looking around, and soon Sivienna just couldn’t take it anymore.

After Sivi and Ri had exchanged customary words, Sivi leapt down with Serenity at her heels. The two sisters circled each other. For a few moments there was silence, nothing but the quiet rustling of the leaves in the forest before the two leapt at each other.

Hands wrapped around the others throat, as the two sisters snarled at each other. Neither could get the upper hand as Rianna’s strength doubled the minute that Sivienna’s hands wrapped around her throat. Rolling around in the dirt, the two sisters fruitlessly struggled before Rianna spat “You goody two shoes! You should just slink into the shadows where you belong! Your no vampire!”

Sivienna let out a hollow laugh as she murmurs “So what? I may not act like a true vampire but at least I’m not whipped! Dad’s just using you!”

“That’s a lie!” Rianna shouted before she moved across the brown dirt, a grin came onto her face as she hisses” Your sleeping with that pretty dragon boy aren’t you? That’s why you’re here? Helping a lover eh?”

Sivienna balked her lavender eyes going wide as she hisses “NO!”

Rianna laughed as she murmurs “He’s hot huh? He’s probably a great lover, though in my opinion it’d be fun to break him! He has such innocent eyes!”

Sivienna growled as she took a step forward shouting ‘SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP YOU VILE BITCH!’

Rianna laughed as she opened her arms whispering “Aww come on now sis! Is that anyway to talk to your little sister?”

Sivienna hisses as the animals in the forest begin to scurry for shelter, in a deadly voice she murmurs “You’ll pay! I’ll wipe that pretty smile off your face for ever disgusting word you just uttered!”

[Epitaph]

“They are taking too long,” Raspien fumed. He paced in front of his desk on the top floor of the Nak’shi Warehouse. He had been displeased with Rianna this far. None of the slaves that had been brought before him seemed like they would have fetched the kind of prices that would have funded this operation.

The expenses for a slave holding operation in the heart of Ettermire were staggering. There were police to bribe and security guards to pay. The advertising was also quite difficult, given how discreet he needed to be.

Now that he looked out the window, he could barely control his rage. He could see his guards going up in flames as they carried the last of their cages into the warehouse. “Goddamn it!” he shouted. He banged his fists against the window angrily. He hadn’t been raised from the dead just to end up poor and penniless.

Fuming, the vampire moved out of his office and leaned out the window. “Send the guards!” he shouted. “Tell them to bring their lances because they’re going to have to fight a dragon.”

The idea of a dragon made Raspien far more nervous than any other animal. The vampire was very powerful, and outside of fire, there was no real way to kill him at night. He didn’t even fear slayers as much as he feared fire-breathing dragons.

Raspien resolved that he should punish Rianna. The vampiress had likely done something too foolish, been too careless if she had let a dragon follow after her. Raspien’s only consolation was that her incompetence had most likely ended. He thought it would be a fitting punishment for her. “If she somehow survives, then I’ll kill her myself,” he resolved.

The only reason that Raspien would have still wanted her alive was that he could have held her hostage. Though she hadn’t said anything explicitly, Raspien had recognized from the tattoo on her waist that she was a member of the Mizami family. If he were to hold her hostage, then he would at least be able to recoup his losses.

More than anything else, Raspien decided that in the future, he wouldn’t pick his underlings based on their ability to fill out a corset. With a weary sigh, he left his office and made his way over to the cages that were kept up on his floor. There were fifteen guards that were waiting there, with instructions to torture the slaves whenever they seemed fit. Raspien had wanted his captives to be too intimidated to make any noise once they had been held captive.

“Don’t let anyone in here...” he said. “Not even Rianna.”

The guards nodded. Raspien studied their faces, just to make sure that they were more loyal to him than they were to the sexy vampiress. He felt that he could trust them.

At that moment, he resolved, no matter what happened with the dragon, he was going to make a profit, even if that profit came at the expense of House Mizami.

[Call me J]

Jame heard the white haired man’s commands to free him. He was reluctant to do so. Though he didn’t want to keep the slave a captive any longer than he had to, he wondered if he wanted a loose cannon running around a warehouse he was trying to liberate. Jame wanted there to be as few casualties as possible, so that he could get as many of the former slaves as possible to join Sine Nomine. However, if he let this white haired man run roughshod over the battlefield, then he doubted he would have that luxury.

These thoughts were interrupted as a vampiress emerged out from a box. The first thing she had done was call for Sivienna. Jame’s eyes bugged. He had found the coincidence unbelievable, and now regretted choosing to partner with the sexy stripper. Frustratedly, he wondered if he had been thinking with the right part of his body when he had let her come with him. He had already known she was a vampiress, now he had to wonder where Sivienna’s loyalties were going to lie.

“If her sister is a slaver, how loyal can she be?” Jame wondered. “If she’s only after a blood feud, will she leave me the moment she’s done with her fight?

Now, Jame wondered if the situation was moving closer to something that he couldn’t control. Had he realized that one of the slavers had survived, he wouldn’t have moved to free their captive until she had been killed. However, now it seemed that Sivienna would occupy her. “I’ll just let the two vampire girls fight it out amongst themselves,” he thought. He chuckled slightly at the prurient thought that came to him then, but knew that couldn’t be his rationale.

“Siv- take care of her,” Jame said. He resolved that he would have to free the white haired man now. He would just have to hope that the man’s impatience was not an indication of his desire to kill. With a few quick cuts, Jame used his sword to free the white haired man.

Now, if things had gone to planned, the two vampiresses would keep each other occupied long enough for him to free the slaves. Wiht the help of the white haired man, Jame liked his chances. At worst, he had introduced a new murderer to the equation, but with all the potential murderers that were already around the warehouse, adding another one seemed like it wouldn’t be all that problematic. At best, Jame had gained a useful ally, one that would have served him better than Sivienna.

A group of slavers filed out the warehouse doors. There were fifteen of them, and eight of them were equipped with lances. Jame frowned. He had hoped by finishing off the first wave of slavers quickly, he would have still had the element of surprise on his side. It seemed that the use of fire had eliminated any benefits he could have had that way.

Jamee looked over to the white haired man. “The name’s Rafe,” he said, using one of his aliases for Sine Nomine. He spoke with the same kind of uncaring flair that he had heard the white haired man use, because Jame figured that was the best way for him to gain some respect. “Those are the people there who wanted to make money by making you a slave. I’ll give you the honor...”

Well aware that the white haired man probably couldn’t take out fifteen fighters by himself, Jame readied his sword and met the first of the slavers as they charged forward towards him.

[Winterhair]

The man had freed him, with a few deft slices from his blade. Off in the distance, it seemed as if two vampiresses were fighting, and Vincent could barely track their movements as they leapt at each other, attacking one another with blades in their hands. It was a fascinating sight, but not one that Vincent could enjoy for long, for once the man had freed him a group of dark elves came rushing forward, assortments of weapons in their hands.

Rafe seemed to be a decent warrior himself, and Vincent felt strength return to his bones as the man cut down the first of the elves with a deft stroke. When he had told the swordsman his name, their had been a quality in it that Vincent found professional, and was reassured in his 'comrade's abilities. Again, he didn't have much time to ponder on that fact, as a dark elf now came rushing foward, wielding duel sabers.

Even though he was without a weapon, Vincent was still a dangerous being. As he had proven time and time again, it was not the weapon that made the warrior, but the warrior who became the weapon. It seemed that, once again, he was called upon to prove that fact. The flickering flames in the street danced in his silver eyes as he calmly took up a crouched position behind his comrade, and held one hand open-palmed in front of him while his other stayed hidden behind his back.

The drow obviously held the advantage, Vincent knew that at first glance. Greater reflexes, the ability to see in the dark, all those things helped the drow out and not Vincent. So, he did the only thing he could do in such a position. He used the element of surprise. Vincent suddenly rushed forward, his great girth belying his speed, and came up before the surprised elf, who had obviously not expected the human to be that fast. His right hand came up from behind him and formed two fingers that immediately slammed into the elf's jugular. However, the only effect that the move had on the drow was that it stumbled backwards, further away from the man against the other force, and once again prepared his twin sabers as the drow rushed forward, bloodlust in its eyes.

"Shit," Vincent swore outloud. He had meant to try and kill the bastard in one hit, but had failed due to his lack of real martial arts skill. If only he could get his hands on a blade...

Wait, that was it. Smiling grimly, Vincent only watched as the muscular warrior before him rushed up to him and swung one of the sabers vertically at his head. Before the blade could touch him, however, Vincent suddenly released the strength in his bones and spun, side-kicking the drow in the stomach and sending it flying back a few feet. Its hand let go of the saber it had been holding and the blade flew forward, past the man's shoulder and embedding itself in the head of one of the drow that had been attacking the man.

Running over, Vincent only smiled wickedly at the masked man and pulled the saber out of the elf's head, not bothering to wipe the blood and gore off of the blade as he spun it around his fingers. He was amazed at how light the short blade was, as he was accustomed to the heavier feeling of his no-dachi. The metal of the blade seemed to be different than steel, though he couldn't figure it out at the moment. Instead, the groan and cursing of his his dark elf opponent from before greeted him, and he turned to find it rushing upon him once more.

[Nightspoison]

“Awwww what? The pretty little Sivi can’t take the fact that she’s a slut? That she sleeps with men just for comfort?” Rianna giggled girlishly as she moved to avoid a slash from Sivi’s shining blade. Laughing even more she murmurs “Can’t handle the fact that she has no one to love her? So she offers her body just for the single comfort of a man at night? Oooo oh lets not forget woman to! I’ve heard the rumors that happened between you and Sarah Dahlios hehe!”

Sivienna’s eyes went wide, the lavender hue darkening as she murmurs “You bitch! Ugh!” Moving to pivot her feet around, Sivienna aimed a downward slash at Rianna’s thigh. She could feel that the clearing was silent, as silent as a church pew at night. Any sign of life had vanished as the two Mizami sisters battled each other.

Even Serenity had taken cover in the tree that Sivi had been in earlier. Her two tails was wrapped around her body as she murmurs “Oh boy…mistress isn’t happy. Rianna is hitting all the spots that she try’s to hide….” She then moved further against the scratchy bark, hoping that her orange fur would blend into the tree’s trunk.

Rianna meanwhile was laughing softly, the moonlight enhanced her pale beauty as she purrs “Ooooo hit a soft spot did I? Hehe can’t take the fact that daddy doesn’t love you? That he wouldn’t except you for who you are?” Moving across the moon lit clearing, she moves closer to her dazed half-sister as she murmurs “Couldn’t take the fact that he didn’t love your mother either huh? Have you heard the story of how my mother and your dad met? Hehe….” Rianna loved the way her words were making her sister squirm.

“Y…you!” Sivienna said, her eyes blazing with furious rage. “I won’t hear this! I’ll tear that tongue of yours right out!” She then closed her eyes, her fury making her loose control. She knew which spell she wanted to use. But she’d need a diversion. In a hoarse voice she hisses “Serenity! SERENITY GET OUT HERE!”

Rianna laughed again, her sparkling blue eyes were light as she said “Aww what? You going to throw your little dragon at me?” Licking her lips she murmurs “I know your magic sister. Remember? We’ve fought before! You can’t pull that spell off easily! That’s why you need your little kistune pet! Well!” Turning on her heels, Rianna sniffed the night air until her eyes fell on the tall Oak tree with its shiny green leaves. Grinning a bit she murmurs “I know just where your little familiar is Sivi and she’s cowering like a leaf! I don’t’ think she’s got the guts to help you!”

Wind seemed to blow around the night beauty’s figure as Ri’s taunting was giving Sivi at least some time to start the winds of her spell. Not answering her sister’s snide question, she seemed to use her will power to call for her familiar. Finally much to the kistune’s disliking she leapt from the tree and landed with a gentle thud on the ground.

Moving amongst the fallen leaves and short sticks, she growls as she hisses” When will you learn to behave Rianna? You should be showing your elder sister respect! After all she does hold the higher position in the House of Mizami! With her here you’ve got no chance of inheriting the title when your father dies!”

Rianna let out a scream of rage, her eyes now directed at the little kitsune who now was taunting her, in a thin voice she murmurs “Hahaha daddy said all I have to do is kill Sivienna! Then the title will be mine!”

Serenity let out a little bark as a blue flame begin to build in her mouth, the wind around them continued to rustle as Sivienna worked her magic, the air was growing colder, the atmosphere darker as the spell continued to build up. Soon Sivi’s spell would be in full effect, and the purple haired vixen could unleash her wrath on the brat she called her half-sister.

Serenity meanwhile released her breathe of fire as she screeched out “You won’t get the chance! You’ve never succeeded in that lofty goal of yours!”

Rianna screamed as she moved to disappear into the shadowy night that was building from her sister’s spell. Using this for cover, she moves to flip her sais close. If her sister wanted to play dirty, she would too. Using the inky darkness, she crept closer to her sister, preparing to slice at her when she got close.

[Nightsangel]

The sounds of metal clashing against metal could be heard in the distance. Sivienna noticed as she continued to concentrate on her spell. She could hear the sounds of the freed slaves cheering, and she could hear Rafe speaking with someone, a man from the sounds of it. However, she had more important matters on her hands. She had to make sure that her sister didn’t interfere with this operation. Letting Rianna taunt her, despite how painful it was, was easier then letting her get her hands on Rafe, or even on any one of the freed male slaves.

Sivienna knew that if her sister got slimy hands on any of them, she’d use them as a hostage either to make her escape, or to some how get a good profit from the deal. But luckily for now Rianna had her sights set on only killing her. As Sivi watched her familiar release the bright blue ball of flame, she also saw her sister sneak into the shadows. A sigh escaped her as she seemed to whisper to the two tailed kistune Go after her…stop her! I’m almost there! A purplish red portal was slowly forming behind her, its size about the size you would expect a small pool to be. Flames were licking slightly out of the portal as a small roar from the distance could be heard.

The two tailed kistune obeyed her mistress’s silent request, slipping into the shadows. Serenity begin to follow the scent that was clinging like a ladies perfume to the ground. Soon she could see Rianna sneaking stealthy across the thick trees that were clustered near the darkened area. Serenity’s tails bristled as she saw that Rianna was in an attack position, letting out a bark, the small kitsune jumped at the red haired dark vixen. A scream rent the air, as Serenity’s little fangs dug into the tender flesh around Ri’s ankle.

“GET OFF ME YOU STUPID LITTLE LEECH !” Ri’s panicked voice shrieked reaching all the way back to the clearing where the slavers had set up camp. She then begin to jump around on one foot, as her other kicked forward trying to get the clinging kitsune off. Dust rose around the two silhouettes. Soon however a THUD could be heard as the red haired seductress had tripped over a large root that was exposed. This caused the kistune to dislodge itself form her leg. A squeal happened though as the shock from Ri’s fall had caused Serenity to feel a small bit of pain in her own little body.

Meanwhile soon the darkened sky was pure pitch black, the roar that had sounded earlier was now stronger as a head begin to stick its way out of the portal. Soon next came a rounded body, followed by large leathery wings. Soon a rather large dragon that was even taller then the trees themselves appeared. Its nostrils blew smoke from them as it eyed the tiny vampire vixen before him. Turning a rounded dark eye on its mistress, it let out a few smoky breathes before it breathed in Sivi’s mind You want me to squash that woman?

Sivienna let out a little laugh as she nods and murmurs back to her pet Yes. Show her no mercy!

Very well my mistress. The great dragon said as his large purple wings begin to flap. Great gusts of wind were created that shook the sturdy trees around the clearing. As the dragon rose into the starless sky, his eyes were trained on the red haired beauty. Flames begin to build in his mouth as he prepared to fire a large flame shot to roast the girl’s body.

Rianna’s eyes were large as she hissed out a breathe and begin to scan the forest for a place to hide. She had been at the mercy of her sister’s dragon before, and just like before the results didn’t seem to be in her favor. A sigh escaped her as a vicious thought came into her mind Why does she have to be more powerful? Why can’t I be the more powerful one? Ugh! This sucks!” As she thought this her eyes soon found a hollowed out cave, but it was far away. Looking back up, she gauged the time between the cave and the speed of her sister’s shadow dragons flame. Knowing that she wouldn’t have enough time to make it, she groaned before she looked around her. [I] What the hell am I going to do? I need to find something anything….to hide in…or else I’m toast!

[Epitaph]

Part of Raspien wanted to stay with the slaves. If there was a last stand to be made, that was where it would happen. However, the vampire had no intention of seeing it get that far. If a final stand was necessary, he would kill anyone left standing, but until that point, the regal vampire had no intention of getting his hands dirty. Throughout earlier existences, he had always been forced to serve as someone’s second, his father, Zephyriah Ablione, or even an enchanted sword. It was a testament to his skill and power that so many powerful people had chosen him, but now that he was in charge, he wanted the hard work to be done by others.

He had gone to too much trouble to get where he was right now. When he had first been brought back up from the ground by Xem’zund, he had no clothes or weapons. He had managed to get some clothes from a Tel Aglarim soldier, but he had been without money. Every single one of the slavers that worked for him, he had been forced to bite them to gain their allegiance. Rianna, he had paid with money he had taken from the drow he had sired, but that just made him feel like she owed him better service.

“I’ll be back,” he said to his vampires guarding the slaves. They nodded politely.

Raspien headed back towards his room. He took one quick glance at the staircase in the corner, and was glad to hear that there was no one running up. He took that as a good sign. Raspien didn’t imagine a fight between his slavers and the dragon would take too long if the dragon had the advantage. The longer he didn’t hear the patter of feet, the more comfortable he felt.

The first thing that Raspien did when he returned to his office was he looked at a small sack in his desk. It was the gold coins he had promised Riana. In a particularly naughty moment, he wondered if he shouldn’t command his slavers to kill her if she had survived the attack from the dragon. That way, he would be able to pocket her payment. He felt he deserved it at this point, considering how poorly she had run his operation.

As Raspien looked out the window, he scowled. He had no idea what had happened to the green dragon, but there were now two fighters taking on the fifteen slavers that he had sent at them. Raspien assumed the green dragon was an anthromorph and that one of the men fighting below was one of the dragons. What disturbed him more was Rianna. It wasn’t that she was alive, though seeing her living didn’t particularly please him. It was who she was fighting.

“Sivienna!” he exclaimed. He remembered the sexy vampires from the Citadel. Then, he had tried to seduce her, but she had resisted. Since then, Raspien had sworn that if they were to meet again, he would change the tides against her. She had insulted him, called him a child because of how recently he had been sired. Part of Raspien craved vengence, but his death at the hands of Damon Kaosi had made him careful. He knew that if he was going to survive, he couldn’t afford to fight battles he couldn’t afford to lose. His powers were just coming back to him. Until they returned in full, he wouldn’t be able to defeat her.

Immediately, he called for his assistant. She came rapidly. “Get everyone waiting in the first floor or with the cages,” he commanded. “We may have a bigger fight on our hands than we imagined.”

His assistant nodded dutifully. Raspien scowled again. He truly detested Sivienna.

[Call me J]

The zeal with which the slavers had attacked Jame surprised him. He had expected them to be dark elves, not vampires. He had hoped that his firebreath would have killed off all the vampires involved with the operation, but now he wondered if every last slaver was a vampire.

Though he had grown a great deal in a short time in terms of his swordsmanship, Jame still couldn’t match the vampires. In the darkness, he could barely see more than the blur of their blades flashing, the well polished steel reflecting what little of the moonlight was left. He continued to fall back as he parried their blows, choosing to retreat over deflect every time he had the chance. Jame knew he needed precision, given the number of slavers that were probably still in the warehouse, he couldn’t afford to get injured early. Sweat had begun to drench his body. Nervously, the half dragon continued to retreat, glad that the ground below him was smooth and paved. With a group of vampires attacking him, Jame didn’t want to have to focus on where his feet were falling.

Flame was beginning to amass in his lungs, and Jame knew that as long as he could keep the vampires at bay, he could overwhelm them all with fire. There were six of them that attacked him, the rest of them had focused on the white haired man. Jame was grateful for that, having the white haired man being the one he had liberated first was probably the only thing that saved him at this point.

Just then, Jame got his second break of luck. Sivienna had summoned another dragon, and though this one was a shadowy creature, the difference could not be made out in the moonlight. The slavers remembered their mission, and it was to destroy the dragon. Immediately, three of them that were attacking Jame dropped their swords and went to grab their lances. That left the half dragon with just three of them to face.

Jame smiled. The shadow dragon wasn’t the only distraction he had benefited from. His lungs were now filled with fire. He took a deep exhale, and it hit one of the vampires straight in the face. That vampire hollered, and collided into both of his friends. Soon enough, all three of them were ash.

With a feeling of relief that was greater than his sense of an accomplishment, Jame took a deep inhale of the night air. It felt quite welcome after having fire building up in his lungs. Despite how much he enjoyed that momentary respite, Jame knew he needed to focus. There was just too much he needed to accomplish and strategize. After his initial plan of a stealthy march had been completely destroyed, he needed a better plan. Sending the white haired man at the slavers would help for the time being, but Jame knew that he would need to develop a new plan. He could see a light up in the third story of the building, so he knew whoever controlled the warehouse knew as much about what was going on as he did.

“And if that man’s a vampire, he’ll be able to see the whole damn thing...” Jame realized. Though it should have occurred to him already, Jame realized that he was perhaps the only person involved in this fight without infravision. He hoped that disadvantage wouldn’t hurt him too much, especially since he couldn’t trust Sivienna. It left him with a feeling of vulnerability, and he hated to be vulnerable.

Until he could think of a plan, Jame decided to take care of the three vampires that had attacked him earlier. Their attention had been drawn to the shadow dragon, but it wouldn’t be there for too long. Jame pulled his spear out of the sheath in his back and threw it straight at one of the vampire’s chest. The distance between the two of them wasn’t too far and the vampire wasn’t moving, so Jame was fortunate enough to have an easy target. The spear ran straight through the vampire, piercing the night creature’s heart with wood. The vampire disintegrated, and Jame summoned the spear back to him.

The two other vampires immediately turned around. Jame could sense their indecision between attacking the dragon and going after him. That indecision was his advantage, and it would tide him through until he could build up more flame in his lungs or return his spear to him. Without those weapons, the best he could do would be to decapitate one of the vampires, and Jame doubted he was that good of a swordsman.

He only hoped that the white haired man was more competent.

[Winterhair]

Maybe he should have been aware of his sorroundings, as Vincent would have seen the man breath fire at his own opponents and seen the shadow dragon that had risen up in the near distance. But at the moment, Vincent was totally concentrated on one thing, and it took all his concentration as he and the dark elf exchanged blow after blow.

Vincent considered himself better than the average swordsman, and even though he knew that he wasn't the best, it still was disheartening to feel overpowered. The dark elf swordsman was incredibly proficient with his saber, and if weren't for Vincent own unpredictable fighting style, he knew that he would have been sliced and diced into pieces long ago.

The dark-skinned warrior rushed forward, then feinted right. Even though Vincent could tell it was a feint, the speed of the horizantal blow as the drow swung the blade around to his left, his unarmed side, Vincent could barely bring around his own saber to clash blows and block the blade. Not stopping to deadlock, both Vincent and the elf leapt backwards as they kept their eyes on one another, two predators viewing each other as prey.

Really, really tough prey.

Vincent was now suffering from several cuts, but they were small and managable. In reality, he was having the time of his life. The excitement of the battle, the speed of the two warriors, the way the sparks were created as the two of the clashed swords, it was almost like paradise for the swordsman. One look at his face now, and anyone could tell that.

The drow could too, obviously, as it backed away in alarm as sadistic smile spread across the silver-eyed man's face. "C'mon at me!" Vincent suddenly shouted, and crouched slightly as he spun his newfound light blade in his right hand and beckoned forward the opponent with his left. His silver eyes swired now in anticipation. "C'mon over here, and I'll make you squeal like a pig."

Taunts were a low trick in battles, but for someone reason the elf took the taunt personally, and yelled out a cry of rage before running forward with the saber obviously mean to cleave or struck Vincent's armed side. He knew that, with this attack, the battle between them would be finished, and coiled his muscles as he watched as his opponent came rushing forward, a black streak in the dim lighting.

His body began acting on its own, or rather, he could almost feel it countdown to the final blow.
5... It echoed throughout not only his body but his head, and he crouched lower.

4...The elf was now jumping forward to gain speed, and spun its blade around to meet its opponent point-first.

3...Vincent jumped foward, releasing his strength in one move, directly at his opponent in the air, and began swinging the blade in his right from behind him.

2...The drow began swinging its blade too, now vertically as to pierce the swordsman through the lung.

1...Their eyes met, and Vincent smiled at the small amount of terror he had created. The drow said something, but he didn't hear, neither did he care.

0.

The drow gasped in pain as Vincent's strength carried his blow forward, and the sharp blade he held cut not only into the the drow but sliced off the chunk of his flesh, severing the right part of its ribcage and shattering any hopes of surviving the blow. Vincent got lucky, and the blade of his opponent only got his in his shoulder, one of the strongest parts of his body. It embedded itself there, but Vincent barely felt it as he watch the blood and bone of his opponent fly out and spill across the burning ground. Inside, he felt a small amount of pride become a burning flame, and he stood laughing as he fell to the ground and he grabbed his opponent's body, who had somehow died instantly.

"You...were a worthy opponent." Vincent spoke to the elf, still with a smile on his face. "Safe journies to the afterlife." And with that, he tossed the body into a burning fire, and grabbed the hilt of the blade that had stabbed him and yanked it out of his shoulder. It started bleeding immediately, but not at an alarming rate, so he ran towards where Rafe was now dealing with two drow in the distance with both blades in his hands now.

[Nightspoison]

Shit! Shit! Damn it! Come on! I need something, ANYTHING! Rianna's mind was screaming this as her shining blue eyes searched the small clearing for anything that she could use as a shield. Fuck! Why does this clearing have to be almost empty!

Panic was creeping into her heart, this wasn't suppose to be happening! What was suppose to happen was they were suppose to stay the day here, then later in the evening creep into the darker parts of Ettermire and make their deal! Raspien was suppose to pay her hefty sum of gold for her help. Then she was going to be on her way home back to Mizami manor! What wasn't suppose to happen was her sister interfering! This half dragon knight appearing and freeing the slaves!

Curse these goody two shoes! I swear! If I get out of this! Sivi will be dead and that half dragon will be my play toy! Ri growled in her mind as her eyes searched across the shaded clearing. All her blue orbs could see were thick trees, their leaves glossy and waving at her. She felt as if they were mocking her. She also saw the now smoking embers of the fire her sister had placed here, her eyes also fell on a broken large wooden log. But she knew that wouldn't do to save her.

The log would burn up a long with her curvy, soft body. Sweat begin to bead down her brow, as she could see the purple-black flames nearing her. The dragon's fire had already scorched the tops of the trees, the scent of burning wood was like a pungent perfume in the air. Wriggling her nose, Rianna made one last desperate search of the area, as the flames were like shining mirrors in her eyes.

Come on! Please goddess! I beg you...save me! Rianna normally did not ask for divine assistance, she did not expect it. But as she felt the flames heat singe the air near her, she was desperate. Closing her eyes and shielding her face, she was about to prepare for the inevitable before a shiny glint teased her from a short distance to her right.

Blinking as the flames were a mere two feet from her, her eyes fell on a glistening piece of steel. It was shaped like a large door. Moving to dive for it, Ri could only figure that there must've been a storage shed at some point in this clearing. Moving to grab it with her fingers, she winced when the cold metal was grasped in her hands.

Letting out a screech, she pivoted on her feet and barely blocked the flames. She could feel the heat scorch against the thick metal. However, the force of it was pushing her back. A scream vibrated through out the still air as Rianna screamed "Curse you Sivienna! Curse you to hell!" She then was pushed back by the force of the intense dragon flames, the shield falling with a loud BANG onto the dusty forest floor.

Rianna then crashed heavily into a tree, stars bursting like dazzling gems in front of her eyes. The last thing she could see before darkness consumed her was the dragon, slowly turning to its mistress and nodding. She then knew no more as she slowly sank into unconsciousness from Sivienna's vicious attack.

[Nightsangel]

Its done my mistress. I shall now take my leave! The dragon whispered to Sivienna mind in a regal tone. He then inclined his noble head, his dark red eyes still glistening from the flames he had released. As a wind picked up, her shadow dragon slowly begin to fade, his leathery purple wings were the last thing to fade from sight.

Sivienna nods and smiles as she whispers to him as he fades "Thank you. You did your job well." She then pivoted on her feet. They didn't make a sound as she walked smugly towards her sister's fallen form. Bending down, her hands reached forward and touched a lock of Rianna's silky red hair. Moving a finger to it she whispers "Vain...as I expected."

Shaking her head, Sivienna's eyes then scan the now torched clearing. Smoke was billowing up from a few of the trees that her dragon had burned. She also saw the metal door was now blackened and its shine had disappeared. Putting this aside she thinks If there was a storage shed here...then there must be rope! I could use this to tie up Ri. That way she won't be able to make a break for it when she wakes up! Pleased with this idea, the night vixen moved away from her sister's fallen form.

As her eyes searched over the broken bits of branches and blackened leaves, she said conversationally to her sister "You can curse me to the depths of hell Ri. But, you'll never beat able to beat me! Your hearts to vain, to clouded to see the true depths of your power!" Still searching, she finishes up her sentence "As long as you believe in dad's words, you'll never be truly free; you'll merely just be his little pet."

Soon her eyes landed on what could only be described as the outline of a building. Pieces of splintered Oak wood were lying scattered among the rubble. As she neared she could see rusty tools lying around the remnants of what was once a storage shed. Moving closer to it, she begin to search through the scratchy wood, picking up some of the rusted tools, she threw aside a orange colored wrench, a screwdriver and a Chainsaw. Soon she came up with a coil of yellowed rope, testing it, she was glad when she could still feel the fibers holding strong.

Moving away form the storage shed, she was at least glad that Ri had been knocked out. If her crazy half sister had saw the Chainsaw, then the night beauty would not have had an easy fight. Moving back to the tree where her sister had fallen, she begin to tie the rope snugly around her sister's wrists, she also used a bit of the remaining rope to tie her sister's ankles together.

Once this was done, the dark vixen uncourteously grabbed her sister's silky locks of hair. Moving to drag Ri's body in the dirt, she quickly made her way back to the slaver's encampment. Her lavender orbs scanned the ash filled area. In a loud voice she hisses "RAFE? WHERE ARE YOU? I'VE CAUGHT ONE OF THE SLAVER'S! IF YOU'VE TAKEN CARE OF THINGS HERE! WE CAN BE ON OUR WAY!"

She could hear what she thought was the distant sounds of weapons clashing, but she wasn't sure where they were coming from. As she dragged Ri further into the encampment. Her eyes fell on the upper windows, blinking as she thought she saw a shadowy figure. She wondered just who else was here. There must have been a higher power running this rickety group of slavers. Glancing down at her half-sister she hisses "Just who were you working for Ri?" She then blinks as she looks back at the simple building. Sighing she shouts again "RAFE? WHERE ARE YOU? TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!"

[Epitaph]

Raspien scowled. He cursed Rianna again, but he knew blaming her didn’t solve his problem. He paced the floor in his office over and over again, looking out the windows to see how the neighbors were reacting. He wasn’t pleased.

At first, Raspien had hoped that the threat of a dragon would have been enough to motivate them to take arms and join his side. However, he realized now that he wouldn’t have that advantage. As much as his neighbors may have detested conflict on their streets, they seemed to detest his operation just as much. Though Raspien had been careful not to let people know about his operation, he doubted Rianna had been as careful.

“If they know what we’re doing here, they’re going to the Kyorl,” Raspien realized. As a former member of the organization, the vampire had been able to bribe enough of the corrupt members, but there were far too many incorruptible officers within every Ettermire precinct. If too many complains came in about the violence outside the warehouse, Raspien knew that the police would soon be coming to him.

With that, Raspien made his way past the cages and down two flights of stairs to where fifteen of his best soldiers had assembled. Many of them had hidden themselves strategically, but two particularly burly warriors waited in the center of the room eagerly.

“You two, come here,” Raspien said. He called out to them before he had reached the bottom stair. The two warriors came over to him obediently.

“You know where the precinct is?” Raspien asked.

They nodded.

“Well, go there now,” Raspien said. “Make sure every last officer not on our till is dead, and get the ones that are over here to help us finish this battle off.”

The two vampires smiled at each other. A sadistic grin appeared on Raspien’s face.

“Good,” he said. “Now go.”

He looked around the room appreciatively. The bottom floor of the warehouse was mostly empty now. There were sets of chairs that had been moved to the side, and twelve vampires were hidden behind them, six to each side. The two torches fixed on the walls had been extinguished, though they normally weren’t used except during the auctions. Raspien smiled, he knew darkness worked in his favor, and he doubted that the dragon would also have infravision.

A last vampire waited behind a podium in the back. Raspien knew why he was there. The twelve were supposed to fight the dragon and his friends, and if any of them escaped, the one behind the podium would finish them off.

Raspien smiled appreciatively. Even in spite of Rianna's incompetence, things were falling into place for him.

[Call me J]

Before Jame could have even called for the white haired man, he heard him calling to him. The half dragon smiled gratefully. Jame began to move towards his ally, figuring that he wanted this battle to happen in a situation that better fit his terms. He had figured by now that the slavers meant to have the rest of their resistance within the building. Had they wanted to continue the battle on the outside, there would have been more people coming.

Jame saw a couple of shadowy figures escape out through the door, but he paid them little mind. They weren’t paying any attention to him, and for all he knew they were lost slaves. In the heat of the battle, it didn’t occur to him that they could be going for reinforcements.

Despite his singular focus, Jame heard Sivienna. “If you have a slaver, kill him!” he shouted back. He wondered why Sivienna needed his advice for that. “Kill him and help me finish off. Then inside!”

Jame’s words were brief, but they had been intentionally so. It had been difficult for Jame to reply, given everything else he was trying to concentrate on. Every word meant breath that couldn’t focus on the creation of fire. He was keeping the two remaining vampires at a blade’s distance away from him and letting another burst of firebreath build up in his lungs. It was difficult to speak, let alone shout without letting some of the fire escape. A few sparks shot out of his mouth, but they extinguished themselves before they could have caused any damage. Jame cursed.

“Damnit,” he thought. “I have to save this for when I need it.” It took a decent amount of Jame’s concentration to build fire in his lungs, and his breath was limited during the time it built. With two vampires still attacking him, it was taxing to deflect their

He knew he’d need to save his flame. Since had figured theat the rest of the slavers would be within the building, he didn’t doubt that they had laid a few traps. At the very least, they had chosen a new setting where the fight would be on their terms. Jame wondered if it wasn’t at least partly so that the battle could stop happening outdoors. Night in Ettermire was more active than nights in other cities, and it was likely that at least a few people had seen the fighting already.

Jame realized now that these spectators were another problem that he hadn’t considered. However, he didn’t know what he could do to solve it, other than rush into the slave house first chance he got. His only consolation was that it was just as much of a problem for the slavers as it was for him. Even if they had bribed the police, there was only so much they could do if there was a full scale battle going on.

A bead of sweat fell of Jame’s forehead as he quickly blocked one of the vampires’ parry. The other had gone off towards the voice of Sivienna, giving Jame and the white haired man a two on one advantage. Jame decided to just focus on defense, leaving the rest to his ally. That way, he would have more than enough fire for whatever they found on the inside.

[Dehkan]

Breathe fogged up the window glass in the chilly room as battle sounds rose upward from the night streets. What am I doing here? thought the man standing in the second floor storage room of the Nak'shi Warehouse in Ettermire, capital of Alerar. He had never let himself get into anything dangerous before. Maybe his quest for the Library has become more of an obsession? The man shook his head voilently. Nonsense.

Dehkan had been there since midday, looking to meet with a nobleman called Raspien Evirus about what he knew about the library, though he knew the risks. Popular rumors stated that Raspien was a vampire, and Dehkan knew these were more than rumors. Over 50 years ago, he had read about exploits of one Raspien Evirus, dark elven male. More than chance. Raspien might want the library for himself, though he would need Dehkan to get it, a fact that the immortal didn't care about. He was about to do anything to reach the legendary structure.

Over 6 hours had went by since Dehkan first entered the biulding. In that time, he has heard sounds coming from both upstairs and down that would chill the soul. Nothing as bad as what he witnessed from the window of the storage floor. Outside had assembled a small group of people that didn't belong to Raspiens' entourage, at least, he didn't think so. One resembled a man described as Jame Whitizard-Kaosi, a half dragon with silver hair whose exploits were written about some 10-odd years before. Also, an unknown white-haired warrior. Young looking. Dehkan didn't know what was going on, but given the history of this neighborhood and Raspien's dark nature, he could only guess it wasn't good.

Dehkan heard acough behind him, and turned to face a man dressed in a somewhat regal robe. He had long, sharp nails, sinister features, and an aura that told Dehkan what he was even before he saw the teeth. Vampires. thought Dehkan, and he spoke. "Yes? What do you want? Come to take me to Raspien yet?" "No, not yet." The man grinned. "Sir Evirus is not yet ready. I must ask you to stay here a bit longer. It is not safe." With not so much as an apology, the vampire left, going down the stairs at the far end of the room. Dehkan never had a problem with vampires, unless one wanted to turn him. He was sure that if the godly powers within him didn't make him immune, it would grant some resistance to the virus, but unless he was sure he would not risk anything.

From the relative safety of his window theater, Dehkan watched in awe and silence the horrible show of bloodshed and brutality. Through the arrival of the vampire brute squad to the epic battle with the dragon, Dehkan could spot cages being hauled into the lower floor of the warehouse. Slaves. Dehkan thought. Are those people trying to free them? A short while later, the dragon left, leaving the battleground looking a bit empty. There were only a few stragglers, but the people fighting were having no problems.

A noise behind him drew his attention away from the scene outside. As he turned and looked, he saw a glimpse of a slim figure with white hair walk down the stairs to the first floor. Raspien. No wonder I couldn't be allowed to see him. He's busy. Dehkan listened intently to the floor above him. No sound. Now was his chance. With haste he went to the staircase, and within seconds he was walking through the entryway into what looked like the slave housing. Cages lined the room, filled with multitudes of people who just stared at him with fear. He wouldn't dare talk. The night made a vampire's senses so strong they would be upon him in seconds.

Through a gap in the cages, Dehkan saw a group of three vampires. Guard squad, no doubt. Guarding the slaves in case something went wrong outside. He snuck forward until the threat was over, then entered a nearby room. It was small, and only contained a desk with chair, a few books and papers on the desk, and a window featuring a great view of the slaughter below. This must be Raspiens' office. I'll wait for him here.

[Nightsangel]

Much as I'd love to...I can't. This one's to valuable a hostage. Sivienna thought blandly as she dragged Rianna's heavy form behind her. She had been lucky, that most of the fighting had gone inside the building. With the deadweight in her arms, the dark vixen would have been hard pressed to fight off any unseen attackers.

Panting a bit, as sweat beaded down her back, Sivi finally managed to reach the door, but paused when her eyes spotted a dark haired vampire exiting the building. A bright silver katana was glinting in his slender hands as he headed towards her.

Uncourteously, Sivi tossed her sister face down against the soft soil. Grabbing her dragon bone claws, she hurriedly pulled them out of their sheathes. Placing the soft leather over her hands, she soon has both securely in place. She then lifted her claws into an attack stance and turned just as the vampire was aiming a downward blow at her thigh.

Grimacing a bit, Sivienna moved into a split to block the blow. Hearing the clang of metal upon bone, she used the force to push herself gradually up to her feet. Her lavender eyes were dark as she hisses "You shouldn't have obeyed my sister! If you had stayed hidden, you wouldn't die now!"

The vampire laughed shrilly as he hissed in a coy voice "Oh honey you couldn't be more wrong! That Mizami brat...' he paused as he glanced at Ri's still form, he licked his lips as he purred "She was merely eye candy, hired by the boss to make sure we were kept in line! Boss told us to forgot her! She didn't live up to her duty! Now we just need to get rid of you! Then the boss said we will all get paid!"

Sivienna's laugh was short and coarse as she said softly "Oh..you couldn't be more wrong! You'll die before you see even the hint of a shiny gold coin." She then pushed off his katana, and aimed a round house kick at the vampire's sword. Her kick connected with the sword which sent a shock wave through her leg, however it also caused the vampire to drop his sword from shock.

"Your crazy! Just who are you!" The vampire stuttered out, as his red eyes widened in panic.

"Sivienna Mizami fool. While my little sister may just want money and only thinks with her greed, I think with my head!" She then slashed her dragon bone claws across the startled vampire's chest, turning him to ash before he could utter another word.

She then turned with a sigh as she saw Jame in trouble. Shaking her head she slowly begins to chant soft words beneath her lips. Dark purple flames begin to form in each of her hands. Counting down the flames begin to grow.

1...the flames grew from the size of small coins to that of a small balls.

2...the flames grew from small balls to the size of a shining ring.

3...the flames were now dancing purple swirls in her hands...ready to fire.

The dark beauty then released her dark flame attacks at the two vampires that were circling Rafe. Screams erupted from both of their mouths as they were for a few moments shining purple beacons. Then they fell silent as they turned to ash.

With this done, Sivienna moved to remove her dragon bone claws, stowing them in her sheath, she then turns to pick up her half-sister. Groaning under the dead weight she mutters "I'm back Rafe...I can't just kill this slaver. She's valuable....we can use her as a hostage...."

[Nightspoison]

Mist, like a thin silver snake was floating in the fog that was Rianna's brain. The mist was weaving dancing in front of the dazed vixen's eyes. Slowly it begin to materialize into solid shapes. A room formed, a room with high velvet backed chairs and two silver goblets in front of two striking figures. Voices, muted begin to reach the shocked beauty's ears as she heard her own voice speaking.

"Is there pay involved Raspien?" She gave him a coy smile "You know I won't work for free dear."

Rubbing her eyes the other Rianna blinked three times as she thought shocked Is this a dream? How could...I be seeing myself? Raspien? Heh...isn't he up in his posh office? Still surprised the dark vampire beauty tried to take a step forward, but the only thing she felt beneath her feet was soft liquid.

Curiosity filled the vampire's heart as for a moment the voices were muted. Squishing her foot into the gel like liquid, the only thing she could feel was cold. As if she was in a bubble, outside of her own world. Moving to look once more at the scene before her she thinks What the hell happened? Ok...I battled my annoying half-sister....she summoned her stupid dragon..and then...what?

Stamping her foot into the watery gel, wrath filled Rianna's heart. Why couldn't she remember what happened after that? Where was she now? If she wasn't awake...was she dead? Asleep? Cursing her luck, Rianna tried to calm herself by listening to the rest of her deal with Raspien.

"Ok then honey...all I need to do is look pretty? Keep your men in line? What about trouble?" Rianna's full lips smirked as she murmurs "I"ll be rescued huh?" She then let out a throaty laugh as she took the rim of the silver goblet and placed it against her lips. Taking a sip she murmurs seductively 'Fine I'll play your eye candy, but the pay better be worth it!" With the assurance that she'd be well compensated, she turns to go murmuring "I"ll be there." She then left the suave little pub, the scene dissolving once more into mist.

With the mist swirling around her again, the confused vampire blinked. She had been promised protection, an easy job. But it had been anything but that. Groaning as she turned to try to leave she spits "Some easy job Raspien. You sly devil...you tricked me. You knew things wouldn't be so easy!" She then pounded against the unyielding black that stood before her as she shouts "LET ME OUT DAMN YOU! I HAVE A VAMPIRE TO TALK TO!" As her small fists struck the wall she thought and a sister to pay back....

[Epitaph]

As Raspien returned to his office, he was not pleased. In fact, the vampire was quite irritable. He didn’t say anything about it, but from the look on his face, it was clear the last thing he wanted to do was deal with something other than the attack of the dragon and Sivienna. Thus, when Dehkan appeared in his office, he wasn’t sure how to react.

“This isn’t going to go well,” Raspien thought. He barely knew the age old librarian, and as such, the vampire didn’t know exactly how the ancient man would have thought about the operation he was running. It hadn’t been a concern earlier, Raspien had considered Dehkan just another academic type that was mostly harmless by himself, but now, he didn’t want anything else around him that he couldn’t control.

For a moment, Raspien considered whether or not he should just kill Dehkan where he stood. The vampire had thought about the idea of tasting blood as old as Dehkan’s. He had once tasted the blood in Sivienna’s body, but that had been vampiric blood, decayed with its age. However, Raspien imagined that the blood of Dehkan would have vintage like a fine Alerian ale while tasting just as fresh as that of a newborn. He tried not to lick his lips, but he could barely help himself.

As he entered his office, he made no effort to offer Dehkan a chair anywhere. He himself stood in the doorway, so that he could hear the noises from below. He was still unsure of how he wanted to handle the situation, but eventually decided that the best way to do it would be to let the vampires downstairs take care of Sivienna and her friend while he dealt with Dehkan, regardless of what he decided to do with the ancient librarian.

Raspien studied Dehkan quizzically, as if he was looking at a puzzle that was one piece away from completion. Thoughts were moving through his mind like earthworms burrowing through soil, and the slight smile that had been on his face had faded back into a more noncommittal expression.

“You aren’t much to look at,” Raspien said, more making an observation than beginning conversation. “Thing is, when you contacted me, I thought you were almost insane. I don’t know what your angle is, or what a librarian as old as you really wants here, but why don’t you start with the basics. How much power and gold am I going to see?”

[Call me J]

Things were getting more complicated all around him, and Jame didn’t like it. Sivienna had managed to come to his rescue by killing off the vampires that surrounded him, but even then, he couldn’t help but feel nervous that she was dragging her sister along with her. She might have been important, for whatever reasons, but even then, the half dragon feared that she would break free and kill Sivienna. He wasn’t sure where the white haired man went, but he knew that time was of the essence. Without much hesitation, he nodded appreciatively towards Sivienna.

Despite the danger of the situation, his body felt better than it had at any previous point in the battle, even though his mind was warning him of dangers. Adrenaline was flowing through it, and sweat had began to lubricate his body in a way that was turning it into a more confident fighting machine. He felt that his instincts had become more solid, his reflexes had become more honed. He hadn’t just survived, he’d won the battle in the streets.

Now, it was time to go inside. His mind was begging for caution, but his body just wanted to rush in, move up the stairs as quickly as possible, and rescue the slaves. He was doing it for the slaves and doing it for Sine Nomine, but now, more than anything else, he wanted to do it for himself. He wanted to taste the jubilance of victory after a hard fought battle. It was something he’d heard his father mention but had never gained himself, because more often than not, his prudence got the best of him.

Before entering into the warehouse, Jame made one last request to Sivienna. “Kill your sister,” he demanded. “I don’t care what she’s worth inside, you’re worth more to me out here. If she comes to and attacks you from behind, what are you going to do?” He kicked her head for good measure, just to make sure that she was truly out cold and not just putting on some kind of show.

With that, Jame opened the door to the warehouse and looked inside. The first floor was as he expected, almost completely dark. Jame blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted as he unsheathed his glowing sword, hoping that it would give him enough light to see the stairs. Now, fear was beginning to return to Jame. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, for even with the door open, the outside artificial lights that had kept the streets of Ettermire bright, were ineffective in here.

“You can see in the dark, right Siv?” Jame called out to her. “Maybe it’s better you go on ahea-”

Before Jame could finish his sentence, twelve vampires rushed him, six from each side.

[Dehkan]

Dehkan stood at the window, almost oblivious of the fact that the man he sought sttod behind him in the doorway. Not often was the immortal man surprised, but only when a scene like the one he was looking at. He turned his gaze away from the window as the group headed into the warehouse bottom floor.

"You aren’t much to look at,” Raspien said to him. “Thing is, when you contacted me, I thought you were almost insane. I don’t know what your angle is, or what a librarian as old as you really wants here, but why don’t you start with the basics. How much power and gold am I going to see?”

"To the point, vampire. As always." Dehkan said, but he smiled. He always liked that about people. Even though he was immortal and had all the time in the world, when it came down to the Library of the Ancients, he wanted to waste no time.

"To answer your question, Lord Evirus, as much as you wish. The Library I seek contains a copy of every word ever written. Texts on ancient treasures, artifacts, and even the secret of turning lead into gold." Dehkan leaned against the windowpane, "I have no need for such things, but I do need help. You and your vampires are long lived enough to help me with this. I need to find the Library of the Ancients."

Dehkan, without a word and a more serious look than he ever had on his face, walked over to the desk in the center of the room. Upon it he placed a tattered book, about a half an inch thick. "This book contains all the knowledge I possess on the library. You may keep it. I wrote it for you." He walked back to his place at the window, and looked out of it. "And don't think of turning me. I'm much more valuable to you alive. I will last forever this way, and I have no weakness."

[Nightsangel]

(Bunny approved.)

Sivienna's reluctance showed in her face, she didn't want to stoop to her half-sister's level. Killing her would just be a badge, a badge saying Look here. I killed my blood. That badge would be a beacon for other members of the Mizami clan to hunt her down. True, there weren't many left. But still, the purple haired vixen did not want to have to face the wrath of her step mother, nor her father. She already had the pleasure of trying to hunt him down. Her path to him had run cold. For now she needed Rianna to help her find her father. She needed to pay him back for what he did to her. She still hadn't forgiven him for her mother's death, no the only way that atonement could be made was with HIS death.

Curling her tongue over her lips, as she moved to drag Rianna's body through the door way she said lowly "I can't...I need her. I need her to..." before she could finish her sentence, a cry reached her It seemed Jame was in trouble. Dropping Rianna crudely on the ground once more, she rushed into the darkened building.

Inside there were screams, screams of Jame fighting back as twelve vampires rushed him. Moving to help, Sivienna got knocked aside by a powerful side kick from one of the enemy vampires. Groaning as she fell against cold steel, pain ricocheted through her body as she lay slumped. Stars were in front of her eyes, as she vaguely heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

A rough voice spoke to her through the darkness "Heh...honey you look like you don't belong here. Eye candy that is what you are, just like that red haired slut." her chin was lifted roughly as he turned her head from side to side. In a cooing voice he murmurs "Vampire to eh? Shouldn't you be helping us?"

Sivienna was slowly recovering from her dazed state, in a hoarse voice she spits "Go to hell. What your doing is wrong bastard!"

The vampire let go of her chin as the sound of an arrow be cocked was heard, in a laughing voice he purrs "Why don't I shut that pretty mouth of yours!" he then released the arrow at near point blank range, its whistling could be heard as it headed straight for Sivi's heart.

A blur of orange darted into Sivienna's chest, the feel of soft fur pressing against her clothing could be felt. A yelp resounded through the air as Serenity took the arrow for her mistress. Panting a bit as she fell onto the cold stone floor, the kistune yelped weakly "Y....y..you could..."more yelping could be heard as the wounded kistune tried to finish her sentence "not...have..f..forgotten me....you left me when Rianna..f..fell.."

Ignoring Serenity for a moment Sivienna quickly unsheathed "Dancing Rose."pressing her sword forward, she felt it connect momentarily with flesh, before the flesh dissolved against her blade. Wiping the sword against her skirt, Sivienna moved forward saying apologetically to her pet "Sorry Serenity....I won't leave you again...but I'm busy right now...I need to help Rafe."

Coughing again the kistune yelped "Fine...fine go help him. Just don't forget to tend to me...when..y..your done...."

Nodding Sivienna then went into the fray shouting "Yeah Rafe...I can see in the dark...careful they are all around us. Listen for their movements!' her feet then danced against the cold metal floor as she clashed swords with a burly looking vampire. Glaring at him, as they begin their dance she hisses "Whose your leader?"

The vampire laughed hollowly as he said "Like I'd tell you sweet cheeks!" He then motioned to his pals to join in and soon Sivienna was trying to fend off four vampires as the others all swarmed onto Jame.

[Nightspoison]

Pain; that was the first sensation that came to the vampire's mind, as her eyes slowly fluttered open. She could feel dirt beneath her fingers, her body though felt heavy. As if she had been thrown about like a sack of potatoes. Wincing a bit as she tried to struggle to a sitting position, she found that she could not move.

Laying still for a bit, she tried to concentrate on her predicament. Her body was throbbing, her vision fuzzy, her body wasn't the only thing aching. Her head, it felt as if a two ton bowling ball had been dropped on it. As she tried to move it back and forth, she let out a yelp of pain. Not only had she been knocked out, as she now deduced, but someone had abused her while she had not been able to defend herself.

Rage begin to curl in her belly as a snarl escaped her lips. Moving to sit up, a burning sensation sliced against her delicate wrists and ankles. With her fangs bared hungrily, her glowing blue eyes traveled down the length of her body. What she saw there made her howl with even more black rage.

Material..rope she could only guess was binding her hands and legs together. Growling as her pain intensified, her eyes slowly fluttered open. Brown was the only color she could see. Writhing she shouts "Damn it!" Trying to look up, the only action she could do was roll over onto her back. Staring up into a starless sky, she shouts "Curse it all! Sivienna...let me out!"

The blossom of rage in her belly was now a curling petaled flower. She knew this pain and this predicament were her sister's doing, her only problem was, that she didn't know how she was going to get out. Moving her eyes from the inky black sky, her eyes slowly scanned the encampment. Nothing sharp...nothing she could use to free herself. Cursing her luck, the blue eyed vixen begin to grind her wrists against the dirt hoping to loosen the fibers of the rope.

Praying for luck, Ri continued to use the friction of the ground, to try and free herself. Meanwhile though she whispered to herself Once I'm free, Sivi's first...then Raspien will feel my wrath. I'm not a commodity to be taken for granted. I'll make that vampire beg for my forgiveness! She used her rage to fuel her movements as the material begin to fray, feeling this, a wicked grin lit her face as she whispers loudly "My retributions is near...all those who hurt me will pay!"

[Epitaph]

Raspien looked at Dehkan with utter and complete surprise. He wasn’t sure how a person that old could be that completely daft. “If I turned him, he’d be loyal to me,” Raspien thought. “If he knows so much about everything, he should know something about vampires…” However, the powerful slaver had no intention of discussing that with Dehkan. The things that he knew that the librarian didn’t were his advantages, and he had every intention of using them.

He looked through the book that Dehkan had gave him with a cursory glance. The library seemed quite elusive, and though the vampire was angered about the thought that he couldn’t take the book out, he was certain that by the time that he found the library, he would know enough to outwit the keeper. “Perhaps using his own librarian as a sacrifice,” Raspien thought appreciatively. The vampire had decided at some point he was going to have to punish Dehkan. He had trouble dealing with arrogant people for too long.

It was why he and Rianna could never be on the same page for long, despite their shared goals. She always wanted to be bigger than him, grab his attention for longer than he had wanted to give it to her. She had been useful, but meeting Dehkan had made him decide that it was worth getting rid of her. There was no point in letting her enter his library as well.

Before he could say anything to Dehkan, a bat flew in from his window, only to transform into a rather thin vampire. The newly arrived vampire was bruised and battered, but it was clear from the look on his face that he had just pulled off a success.

“The police are done with, the station’s in flames. We drank our fill, turned some, and the rest we on the payroll anyways,” the injured vampire said. “We’ve taken care of them now, sir, and if your men downstairs don’t handle the dragon, the rest of them will.”

Raspien smiled. “Good old Shadow…” he thought. “So much more reliable than Rianna.”

Shadow, finished with his report, turned his attention to Dehkan. As if his thirst was not satiated by the police, he turned his attention to the librarian as he greedily asked, “Who’s this?”

“No one of your concern,” Raspien replied. “Just an interested buyer.”

Shadow nodded. He knew what Raspien meant by that, someone that they couldn’t eat just yet. “Well if you’ll excuse me…” Shadow said.

Raspien nodded, and once Shadow was dismissed, the head slaver’s attention was solely on Dehkan. “Now, I’m sorry about that interruption,” he began, even though he could have cared less of whether or not it had inconvenienced the librarian. “But it seems that your offer is interesting. Of course, I would have to ask, why me? What is it that I have that you want?”

[Call me J]

Jame could practically feel his adrenaline betraying him as it seemed to be seeping out of his body as the vampires attacked. Immediately, he reached for the only thing he could think of, and with the fire still in his lungs, released a huge bellows worth of fire, spraying at least three of the vampires as his flame cut a swathe against him. Still, that wouldn’t be enough, there were seven others on him. The half dragon utilized another of his race’s abilities as he covered himself with scales, and ducked down low to let the vampires blades clash with each other.

With each vampire counting on Jame to stop their momentum they collided into each other. They moved quickly enough, to rectify the situation, but the collision of their weapons against each other had given Jame just the opportunity he needed. Where he had once stood in humanoid form, he now roared as a dragon. With a ferocious howl, he looked down on all the vampires, his body practically too big for the room they were in. When he flapped his wings, he knocked down the unlit torches to either side.

The vampires shuddered, and Jame wasted no time as he bit the head off one and spit it out as it turned to dust. With his neck, he scanned the second floor quickly before he allowed himself a deep exhale, that with his dragon lungs could set the remainder of his attackers on fire. Jame had to laugh. Fate had reversed on him so surprisingly quick. Once, twelve vampires were attacking him, and now, with a bit of help from Sivienna, the only ones still assaulting him were running frantically, their entire bodies erupting in fire. With his work completed, Jame transformed back into his preferred, safer form, as he looked out on Sivenna and Rianna.

It was lighter now than it had been when he’d first entered, the burning vampires provided him with a bit of light. He could see that Sivienna had continued to carry her sister around, but before he could say anything, he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Grateful that he remembered Sivienna’s suggestion about checking for sounds he turned around to find another vampire lunging towards him.

Uneasily, Jame bit down on his lip as he blocked the first parry with his sword. “Get rid of your sister,” Jame shouted to Sivienna, repeating his command for a second time. “If you don’t, she WILL betray you.”

He had barely finished his sentence before he had been forced to block a second parry. The vampire attacking him was practically frothing, enraged that the dragon kill that had expected to be easy had suddenly got much more complicated. In the light of his glowing blade, Jame could see little more than the yellow irises and glowing white teeth of his foe, but even that was enough to let him know he was dealing with a vampire larger than usual, and from the fighting style he was facing, one even more deadly than the usual.

Now, the vampire freighted left and used its better agility to land a cut on Jame. The blow might have been intended for the half dragon’s heart, but Jame was fortunately fast enough to only take it on his arm as it cut through his flesh. He hissed in pain, but was glad that it was only a flesh wound in his non dueling hand. Eager to counter, he made a wild swipe, but it was still good enough to get some distance between himself and the vampire.

“Feeding season…” the vampire hissed.

[Dehkan]

The interruption caused by the vampiric servant meant little to the ancient man. Dehkan had spent that last few millenia searching for the Library of the Ancients, and he wouldn't mind looking for a few more millenia. Dehkan turned to the vampire lord, who had a smug look about him.

"You have people who serve you." Dehkan answered the vampire, with no hesitation. "With just me, it would take forever to find the library. And further, the offer should be much more than interesting. Mere mortals cannot even begin to use the knowledge contained in the building I seek. Immortals like us can spend the rest of time using this library." Dehkan knew Raspien wasn't the only being he would have to hire, but that will come later.

Dehkan had spent so much time talking to people like Raspien, that he detected the waiver in his voice. The vampire didn't believe him. "I know you are unsure of how true my words are in regards to you turning me. I have met many like you. Many far older than you. Believe me, if you resist your own temptation, in the next few hundred years when you need my knowledge, you will be glad of this alliance."

Dehkan turned back to the window, and watched as the fog of the previous battle lifted to reveal the now empty battlefield. "Truth is," he added, "I am unsure what would happen if I am bitten by a vampire. The divine ties that bind my powers to me might disappear and I'd become as weak and useless as your servant that just left, or those same ties might backfire and kill you."
Dehkan knew he had already taken a great risk asking for help from one such as Raspien, but he had little choice.

[Nightsangel]

Sivienna laughed hollowly at Jame's suggestion. In a monotone voice she shouts "I'm already expecting her to betray me Jame! We are not exactly on cozy terms!" Just as she said this, a rock bumped against the back of her head. Grimacing as she rubbed at the slight pain, the night vixen turned around to be greeted by an unpleasant sight.

Aside from the snarling vampire that was currently attacking Jame, there were still the four other vampires that were circling Sivi. One had tossed a small rock at her to get her attention, or more accurately to try and divert her attention. Due to her momentary pause one of the vampires had managed to sneak behind the beauty's back. She then felt arms wrap snugly around her slim waist, a voice then cooed in her ear. "You really are absent minded cutie. Your about as thick as your sister." He then moved to place a dagger against her neck, licking his lips he murmurs "Before I turn you into ash I.." his words were cut short as a sai was placed snugly in the middle of his stomach.

With his eyes wide, the vampire turned to ash. Shock filled Sivienna's heart as she stared into angry blue eyes. Her sister had saved her, ironic though it was, Sivienna was sure Rianna's intentions weren't pure. As her sister wiped the black blood from her sai, she met Sivi's curious lavender eyes with her own angry blue ones."In a dark voice she hissed, "you're next Sivi. Consider that last act of my mercy for you my last, sister. I have someone more important to deal with!" The red haired vixen, then threw aside the shredded bits of rope that had bound her.

Moving quickly through the battling half dragon and vampires, she soon descended the stairs disappearing from sight.

The trio around Sivi were momentarily shell shocked as well, as they watched their would be eye candy head towards their bosses office. The dark vixen however got over her shock faster, moving quickly, she pulled 'Dancing Rose' from its sheathe. Using quick sword work, the young vampiress managed to turn her remaining three foes into ash.

With this done, Sivienna rushed forward to aid Jame. In a low voice she hissed "Someone stronger is running this operation Jame. We need to get by this beast...then we can find out who is running the show!"

[Nightspoison]

I'm so going to kill Raspien. That arrogant, selfish, good-for-nothing ass hole! He treated me with the slightest respect when we met again. But now, now he was just using me, using me as cruelly as he used that poor girl he changed... Her blood was raging, her body felt as if a fire was lit within it and it would not diminish until she had her words with Raspien.

As she stepped up onto the threshold that led to Raspien's office. She smirked, she couldn't help it. The lights were very dull, the colors of the walls a drab gray. There were no ornaments, no nothing that showed that a someone lived here. It just felt like a warehouse, a place to store and sell things. Moving through the short hall, Ri thought He could've at least brightened this place up for the buyers. No body wants to do business in such a boring place...

Now though was not the time to think about decorations, she had to get through the guards that Raspien had so conveniently placed. Scowling as she came upon the first three. She put a pretty smile on her face and said sweetly "Come on. I just want to see Raspien. Won't you let me through?"

"Sorry Miss Mizami, the master said to let no one through. Not even you!" a big burly vampire said, his booming voice attracting the attention of the other two.

"What is the problem Tai?" a small vampire with greasy black hair asked.

"The eye candy wants to get through." the bigger vampire said, his mannerisms to Rianna dropping.

"No...that is the answer." came the third ones voice.

Rianna giggled as she batted her eyelashes and said coyly "Aww come now. You know House Mizami can pay you way better then Raspien can. Let me through and I'll make sure that my daddy fills your pockets with gold!"

The three males eyes filled with dollar signs. She knew at that point she had them. Grinning as she sauntered by them she whispers "I"ll make sure daddy pays you. Thanks for letting me through!" She then moved on down the corridor, before she was halted again. This time, there were three taller and sterner looking vampires in front of her. Before she could make another step, the meanest looking one said. "Just what are you doing slut? Go back, unless you want to get yourself killed!"

[Epitaph]

The entire warehouse had shook with the impact of the dragon transformation, and Raspien needed only to look out of his office to see that it had happened. He was careful to avoid being caught in an errant flame, but otherwise, played it off as nothing had happened. Though he didn’t say it, he was somewhat surprised by Dehkan’s poise. Raspien would have thought that a limp wristed librarian that old would have been pleading for his life after the way that the warehouse had shook.

Raspien could practically hear Dehkan begging for his life with his statement. He let out an arrogant guffaw. “Your proposal seems like one that I might not want to reject,” he said. “But that’s not the same as acceptance, just yet… I have people, they aren’t too hard to get when you’re a vampire, but I’m wondering, how many of my people do I want to give you? Sometimes, I really just think you annoy me. You like to talk about old times and greatness, and yet you don’t even know you’d need to drink my blood back if you wanted to actually turn into a vampire. If I just drank you, then you’d be dead, and all your haughty little knowledge and secrets would be gone along with you.”

The dark elven vampire winked at Dehkan. “Consider that,” he suggested, before stepping out in the hallway. He had heard more noises and he hoped, for once, that at least one of the Mizami sisters would be dead. At the moment, he found it difficult to compare which.

The moment he stepped out of his office, he spied Rianna. He cringed. She was fighting his men, a few of the loose lipped among them must have made let slip what his intentions towards her were. Cursing under his breath, he called out to her, eager to see her go back to work for their common cause. “Ahoy there!” he called out dryly. “Sivienna isn’t here, go down and kill her!”

Before giving Rianna a chance to respond, the dark elven vampire headed back into his office. “You know what…” he said. “You think you’re any good with a sword? I have a disgruntled employee out there, and if you finished her off for me, I might be inclined to believe everything you’re telling me.”

-x-

As Raspien conversed with Dehkan, his soldiers were coming back from the police station in large numbers. Only two of Raspien’s best had gone, Shadow and Edge, but Edge had returned with five corrupt officers and six other vampires. Shadow, who had gone ahead to tell Raspien of the good news, was heading back to the cages to deal with Rianna, but the rest of the group were ready to bust in to the ground floor.

They were a clever bunch. Edge had been one of Raspien’s best students, and the senior vampire had come up with a particularly devious plan. Instead of sending his vampires in, he sent the police.

“Drop your weapons!” one of them boomed as the group entered, all carrying flintlock rifles. “We’ve heard about an illegal slaving ring, and we’re here to shut it down.”

Edge grinned as he waited outside. The moment he heard the sound of weapons dropping, he was going to send his vampires in.

[Call me J]

Sivienna’s appearance had evened the odds for Jame against his foe. He wanted to take the vampire down, but before they could attack, they were stopped by the Ettermire police. Jame’s entire body winced at the prospect. Even with a bandana over his face, he knew there was no way he’d be able to escape undetected now. He was about to drop his weapon and nurse his wounded hand, when he heard the vampire behind him speak.

“Why you little…” the vampire cursed, looking at the soldiers angrily. “We pay you, and you repay us like this?”

Suddenly, Jame realized the trap. He didn’t throw his sword to the floor. He waited for the vampire. Then, without another second’s hesitation, he chopped off the unsuspecting vampire’s head with a wide, arching blow. It was the kind of strike that would have never have been possible in a real fight. The police, surprised by Jame’s actions, were too stunned to fire.

“Siv, they’re on the till,” Jame warned. “Move!” He knew they were in trouble, these police officers weren’t looking for arrests, they were looking for the kill. The whole thing about dropping the weapons had just been a ruse. It had been too convenient otherwise. Jame was just glad he managed to realize it before it was too late.

Eager to avoid the mass of bullets as they were fired, Jame let his skin take on a layer of scales for protection as the bullets went flying through the sky. Courageously, he pulled Sivienna with him, moving the two of them back behind the podium as soon as possible. Even then, Jame didn’t survive the shots without a scratch. One of them had hit him in his already injured arm, and another had grazed his leg. He looked down at his suddenly bloody calf, grateful that the panic caused by suddenly being identified had caused the corrupt officers to misfire.

Jame only took a second to check up on Sivienna, asking her nothing more than a brief “you hurt?” before throwing his sword at one of the policemen. It hit right in the chest, just as the officer was reaching into his powder conch to reload the weapon. The hit was one of pure luck, in the darkness it had been difficult to take aim. Now, Jame didn’t have a weapon, but he didn’t mind. He let the scales that covered his skin fade and seconds later, out popped dragon claws.

With a smirk, he knew he was going to have to work fast. Even in the darkness, Jame could tell that more shadowy figures had entered the room, and he doubted that they were on his side. “Anything you can throw at these guys, I’d love to see it,” he told Sivienna. However, he wasn’t smiling the way he had been before. His entire face had been wrought with consternation, and he wondered how much longer he and Sivienna would have to fight before they reached Raspien. Now that he had begun to bleed, he knew that time was working against him.

[Nightsangel]

When the police arrived, relief filled Sivienna's heart. She figured that these men in their blue uniforms was here to arrest the smugglers. However, as they loaded and cocked their guns, she realized that they were here for anything but that. As she heard Jame's shout the reason why these enforcers were here, she gulped and immediately moved to protect Jame.

She could tell he was injured, the heady fragrance of his blood, was like a dizzying siren call to the vampiress. Closing her eyes as she moved to wrap her arms around Jame's form. Her teeth gritted tightly as she hissed "Lets get inside. We're no match against these guns..we have to.." a bullet was fired from said guns, as the night vixen's eyes widened.

Pain, it was like a silent flower spreading through her body. As her arms loosened from Jame's body, she slumped to the ground. Her arms were pawing gently at the blood that was pouring like crimson rain from her busty form. Her eyes were glazing, the lavender turning a dull purple as she felt the life leaving her body.

The wind that blew cooly before, now felt like a dry breathe, as if death was seeking out the seductress of the night. However, Sivienna gripped her only gift. Her only form for her to survive. An aura, powerful and bright begin to shine around the dancer's fallen form. As the cops were busy reloading their guns, the night angel gave in to her more feral side.

Blood spilled like candied wine from her right breast, but her body became immune to it. The scent of Jame's blood, was too much for her, her lust, her bloodlust was becoming prominent. A groan escaped the beautiful vampire's lips, as her eyes darkened to bright violet, her hair blew in an unseen wind, and her nails were like sharp claws on her hands. As the aura disappeared and Sivienna rose slowly to her feet, she could hear the men getting back into formation.

A grin come onto her fair face as she cooed "Ooo, the little animals think that they can kill me?" Without bothering to wait for a response, Sivienna leapt into actions. The first cop she caught off guard, he was busy raising his gun, his intent was to fire a bullet straight into Jame's chest. But, before he could get off one bullet, fangs sank snugly into his flesh.

As Sviienna drank from the first cop, chaos begin to sink into the other enforcer's formation. Two of the cops screamed, their guns were dropped as they prepared to flee. The air became fresh with the scent of blood as the night beauty dropped her first prey. She then leapt for the other two who were trying to escape. The other cops tried to pry her off, their fists beating into her slender and delicate back as she managed to wrap her slim fingers around the first fleeing cop's ankle.

With no choice, she simply let her fangs sink into the man's leg. She could feel bullets, one, two, no three firing straight into her back and into her arms. However, the bullets weren't having any effect. No matter, where they hit, the power of her regeneration was at its max. As she fed her next victim dry, she grinned. Rising, she didn't bother to drink from the next cop, instead, she pounced on him and grinned evilly.

In a coy voice she purred "Time to die you crooked cop!" she then slowly and seductively traced her sharpened nails across the man's neck. The cop let out one strangled whimper, before he fell to the ground, blood flowing elegantly from his neck.

As the two remaining officers, were panicking, a regal voice issued orders" Kill the bitch! She's only able to survive due to her regan powers! Take her away from her prey! You!" Edge pointed at a muscular vampire, his voice was sharp with authority as he shouted "Take those two humans away from her! Then get her!"

The big, heavy vampire nodded as he moved to block Sivienna's claws from the remaining two officers. His big black eyes were luminous as he crowed "You won't touch these two little ones Mizami. I'll see to..."

Sivienna grinned as she moved like a cheetah, her hands quickly picked up one her fallen victim's guns. Licking her lips as she cradled the steel pistol like it was precious to her. Moving fast, she quickly reloaded the gun, as the big, strong vampire aimed a fist at her face. Finally as the powder clicked into place. She then lifted the gun awkwardly pointing it towards the big vampire's face.

She then fired off one of the bullets praying that her aim was true. Seconds passed as she watched the evil minion's fist head slowly towards her, however just at the last second the fist fell as the sound of a bullet entering the vampire thug's stomach could be heard. The meaty man tumbled to the ground, the sound echoing through the still darkness.

Sivienna then grinned as she looked at the two little lambs behind him. They didn't look like officers anymore, now they looked like two little cows, lost without protection. She simply sauntered up to them, her eyes glowing with her need to feed. As she bent down to pull the first one towards her, she heard the same vampire's voice shouting.

"Damn it! Her brat of a sister was easier to control! Can't someone take her out!" He then issued his men to surround her and jump her. However before he could give this order, the sounds of two human screams could be heard. Sivienna had finished feeding off the last two officers.

With this done, her bloodlust was slowly satiated. Her hair slowly returned to normal as she licked the last few crimson drops off her lips. With her hands normal, she now turned to rush back to Jame. There was still Edge and five other vampires left. She was also growing tired, as her body slowly healed from the last few bullets, she groaned. Her head drooping a bit as she whispered to Jame "We need to find an escape...I'm running low on energy. Plus, these last few vampires seem tough..." her eyes then scanned the warehouse, looking for anything of use, that they could use to finish off their last few foes before they could get to Raspien.

[Nightspoison]

Rianna's full lips pouted, she was getting impatient. Not only was Raspien putting up an annoying blockade, but he still was treating her like she was a commodity. Something that could be easily disposed of had she failed. She knew that when that half dragon and her bloody half-sister had appeared, that she had been rescued that most of the slavers had died. But still that gave Raspien no right to write her off. Gritting her teeth as she stared into the dark,stern eyes of the next vampire.

Her lips opened softly, in a sultry voice she cooed "Awww Raven...come on now, why don't you let me through? Raspien won't pay you ne-"

Her words were cut off by Raven's rough voice, crudely he spoke to her "Listen little whore, Master Raspien paid us well in advance to protect him! We won't let some snide, little red haired miss seduce her way past us!"

Rianna folded her arms over her breasts, looking at her three barricades, she tried to think of a way to get past them. She knew money wouldn't work, these vampires seemed to be less greedy then the previous three who had tried to stop her. Her mind's wheel was turning, slowly her eyes brightened as she said in a soothing voice "If it isn't money you boys want, then how about concubines?'

One of the other men, a short, stocky fellow with bright red eyes blinked. In a wondrous voice he asked "Is the Mizami house really that rich?"

Knowing that she had hit a chord, Ri nodded jubilantly as she saucily said "Yes, we are. I can offer you each three female thralls. You'll be pleased with their services."

The last vampire, a medium tall man, with white hair and black dark eyes said severly "But, we can't possibly...Master Raspien, already...."

The first one, his thick lips twitching said firmly "But we can get slaves, free ones. Miss Mizami...said that she'd each give us three. That is MORE then what Raspien offered us!"

"True..' the other two said hesitantly.

Knowing that she almost had this deal clinched, Ri moved to her first blockade and moved to touch his chin, in a seductive purr she whispered "I'll make sure they all are beautiful. All you three have to do is say yes!"''

It took awhile for the three to decide, the middle one, the one who had been hesitant to take her deal looked behind him. She knew that he was looking down the narrow corridor towards the door that was at the end. He was wondering just what Raspien would do to him, too all of them if they let this little slut through. However, his other two companions weren't so hesitant. Grinning a yes came from the tallest one, the smaller one also said yes. Now he was the only one who still was preventing her passage. Looking into her beautiful blue eyes he saw that her promise was true. A slow grin came to his face as he said "Fine, yes, give us the concubines!"

Ri grinned girlishly as she nodded purring "Fine, I'll send your little slaves to you after I talk with Raspien!" She then waltzed by them, her heart was pulsing with happiness as she grew near the door. However, yet one more barrier presented itself.

Three vampires, all dressed in dark clothes appeared. Their looks were disconcerting. Their body stance telling her that she was not getting by. As she approached them she thought Al right...I'm running out of options. Just what can I offer them? For these three jerks to let me by...