Betrayal (8)

8: New body-old soul

Veax lay in her bed. She was still scared to go to sleep, despite Dorran's encouragement. In all honesty, Veax was not scared of Elleron, but scared of dreaming. She had dreamt once before and that had not ended well. It was before her mother's death. Veax shivered at the memory. Her mother had died of starvation, a long and horrible death for a Vampire. It was just a few months before the clan moved out of the city manor and headed out to the country.Veax's mother, Raina, was a beautiful Vampire with the reddest hair you have ever seen and golden eyes. She was very much against the war, Raina saw no meaning to it. She had tried to use logic and history onCarthem, but logic was a stranger to Carthem and he thought nothing of history, be it Vampiric or not. Veax remember covering Nasya's ears as her parents fought. Her mother had tried to tell Carthem, for the millionth time, that Vampires and Werewolves had once lived beside one another under Elleron's rule, along with many other races. Carthem never listened to Raina, and that was half the reason she allowed herself to die such a death. Raina had love Carthem, but when his love for her died, so did she.

Veax shook her head, trying to wipe the horrid memory from her mind. Then it came to her. "King Elleron once ruled over all creatures, Vampiric and Werewolven alike." Veax whispered. "Then he died -supposedly- and everything fell apart. He might have been a tyrant, but he was a good king. He kept the peace! Maybe...."Veax hesitated before continuing, "Maybe he could keep the peace again. Maybe he could come back and end the war." she laid down on the bed, curiosity replacing her fear.Veax closed her eyes and repeated "Let me talk to Elleron." over and over again. Slowly but surely, she fell asleep.

She was in the main hall of the Obsidian castle again. Veax looked to the tapestry. It was different somehow. Veax could not see how it was different, she just knew it was. It told a different story. Veax dismissed the tapestry and walked down the hidden stairway. It seemed to take longer this time.
When she reached the bottom, there was no one there. Veax took in a deep breath. "Wait." she paused. "I'm controlling myself. Does this mean I'm still dreaming? Or can you control yourself in your dreams sometimes?"Veax asked herself. "Yes. You can control yourself in your own dreams." a voice spoke from behind her. Veax spun around, it was Elleron. His emerald robes contrasted well with his white skin. "Did you see the tapestry?" he asked in a cool voice. Veax shook her head. Elleron looked disappointed. Veax noticed that he stood out from everything. Everything around him seemed slightly blurred now. "Thats a bummer. I thought you might like it. You can see it in the morning though, so all is well." he said shrugging.
Veax did not know how to start. How should I ask him? she thought. "Ask me what?" Elleron asked, his eyebrow raised. "I thought you could read my mind deeper than that." Veax said, looking up to his eyes. They were as icy blue as her own, if not more. Elleron chuckled. "I could. Last night you were sleeping with no control over your dream. Since you had no control, I filled that spot and learned what I could. But now that you are more or less awake, I can only see so deep. And I feel like being polite, so I'm going to let you decide to ask me whatever it is you want to ask me or not."Elleron explained. "Aha..." Veax nodded. "How did you know that I could read your thoughts deeper?" Elleron asked. Veax looked in the direction of the library that the journal was and before she could think twice, she was standing in front of the old desk andElleron was seated in the large armchair. The book was opened to the page with Elleron's previous entry that told of his seeing Veax.
Elleron ran his fingers over the writing. "I thought you couldn't read goblin." he said. Veax guessed that Elleron made sure that she could not read goblin, for the sack of her not reading the journal. "I can't, Vance read it to me." she explained.Elleron looked up at her. "Vance Warxen?" he asked. Veax nodded. Elleron seemed to turn this fact over in his mind and Veax saw a small gleam shine in his eyes.
"Elleron...." Veax started. Damn. I still don't know how to ask. I don't want to do anything that would hurt anyone else. she thought. "Yes?" Elleron looked up at her. "Um.... How do you plan to "come back", pray tell?" Veax asked, her voice low. Elleron looked down at the journal. "I said what I was going to do. Whats bothering you?" he asked, the gleam gone from his eye. "I don't want you to hurt anyone coming back. I don't want anyone close to me having to do something against their will or being promised anything that won't be fulfilled." she said.Elleron stood and smiled warmly at Veax. "I give you my word, no one will be harmed or given any false promises." he said sincerely as he placed a cold hand on her cheek. "But how do I know you're not lying now?" Veax asked, biting her lip. "Because I don't want to scare you. I don't want to loose you." Elleron spoke with the sort of longing that Veax had told of in her bedtime story to the young ones.
Veax pulled away from Elleron's hand, as comferting as it was. "Do you have any idea who to choose?" she asked, turning away. Veax could feel Elleron's despair at that action. "Yes." he said. Vance... Veax thought. "Yes." Elleron confirmed. Veax turned back around. "You'll keep your word?" she asked, just once more. Elleron nodded.
Veax was about to say something more, but she heard a sof t voice calling to her from the outside. "Veax, c'mon you sleepy head, get up." spoke Nasya's voice. Veax smiled at Elleron and allowed herself to return to consciousness.

"Hm?" Veax mumbled as she opened her eyes. Nasya giggled. "You've never slept this deep before." she said. "I did notice two shadows passing my door last night." Nasya smiled. "You didn't sneak off with somebody last night did you?" she asked with giggling curiosity. Veax blushed. "No! What makes you think that?" she asked, sitting up in bed. Nasya only giggled more. "That was so totally a yes! C'mon, tell me who the lucky guy is." Nasya asked, her big eyes batting at Veax. Veax rolled her eyes. "I did not sneak out with anyone, and there is no lucky guy, Nessie." Veax said, annoyed. She had wanted a different welcome back into the world of reality. Did King Elleron and I just have a long and meaningful conversation in my dream? Veax thought, remembering the whole meeting with perfect clarity. Elleron had expressed the feeling only two other women had felt towards Veax just a moment ago.

Nasya nudged Veax about the previous night over and over again. "No, Vance and I didn't sneak off!" Veax said, turning to her little sister, quite annoyed now. "How many times to I have to tell you? Nothing happened last night! I was just wandering 'bout the manor like I used to before we moved. 'Kay?" she snapped at Nasya.

Nasya backed off after that, just one more complaint away form a smack in the face. Veax stood on a one of the five third floor balconies. She was trying to figure out who to see first; Dorran or Vance. It might be best to see if Dorran's doing alright. Then I'll go see Vance..... I wonder what he'll be like after Elleron. That is, if Vance accepts Elleron's offer-proposal-whatever-it-is-thingy. Veax thought as she headed for the unused wine cellar. Oh damnit! I didn't get any blankets for Dorran! He must be misrble. Veax realized. Veax grabbed a few good spare blankets as discreetly as she could and headed back down to the cellar.

Almost everybody was out of the manor and back in the city. This was a good thing. A very good thing. Veax reached the door and knocked. "Mixed." she said. There was a moment of silcnce and then the sound of the lock clicking open. Dorran stood at the door, he looked horrible. "Did you sleep at all?" Veax asked, feeling so bad that she had not gotten him a blanket sooner. Dorrn smiled. "I got a few hours. How about you?" he asked, taking the blankets. Veax took a deep breath. "I guess I slept..." she said, locking the door and then helping Dorran lay the blankets out for his makeshift bed. "You guess?" He asked, confused. Veax sighed.

Veax told Dorran everything about her meeting with Elleron. It was nice having someone to talk to. Someoen who would not look at her like she was an idiot or traitor. "Well, now you know what you wanted to know. The question now is: what are you going to do about it?" Dorran spoke Veax exact problem aloud. Veax lay down. "I have no damn idea." she said. Every time Veax had tried to think of something to do, her mind had gone blank. That always happened to her when she tired to think of one specific thing.

They lay in silence for a moment, but that silence was broken by Dorran's loud stomach. Veax giggled. "I'll go get you some food" she said, standing and going to the door. "Would you like some "wine" as well?" she asked with a smile. Dorran's eyes lit up. "That would be the best thing in the world to me right now." he answered.

Veax casually walked to the newer wine cellar and got her and Dorran a bottle of blood-wine, which was the same thing as wine, but it had the one special ingredient that all Vampires craved; human blood. When she got a fresh bottle, Veax headed up to the kitchen. Memly, the head chef and cook, was busy cooking some soup for lunch. "Ey, Memly?" Veax asked, half in and half out of the kitchen. Memly, a stout auburn-haired Vampre, turned to face Veax, her beady green eyes kind. "What can I do for you dear?" Memly asked with a smile. "Do you perchance have any meat left form last night's dinner?" Veax asked in her usual way. "Hiding up in your room again?" Memly asked, moving over to a large cabinet. "More like up on the roof, but you were close enough." she said with a smile. Memly handed Veax a pile of sliced and uneaten pork wrapped in a large napkin. "Well wherever you are going to be, it'll be nice to have somebody eat this meat." Memly said, returning to her stew.

Veax grabbed to cups before she left the kitchen and then headed back to the old cellar as fast as she could, she too was hungry. When she reached there, she again knocked and spoke the 'password' and Dorran let her in. They sat down and Veax set the two cups down and poured Dorran a drink before she did anything else. "Be careful when drinking that," she told Dorran as he picked up the cup. "It's like wine so if you drink it to fast you'll feel sick." she explained. Dorran nodded and sipped in down as fast as one could sip wine.

They had a nice brunch of pork and blood-wine. Dorran most of the blood-wine, which helped his sleeping problem and his feeding problem. Veax left the empty wine bottle with Dorran as well as the last few pieces of pork. "I'll be back later tonight with some more to eat, okay?" Veax asked as she was leaving the cellar. "Thats just fine." he said, locking the door behind Veax.

Veax walked out into the daylight. The sun felt nice on her skin. "Oi! Veax!" a femiliar voice called. Veax turned to see who it was. Culdo was running towards her. Veax waited for him to finally reach her. "You know, " he paused to catch his breath "You could've, done something, along the lines, of running to meet me." he said, panting as be spoke. Veax giggled. "No when had I ever done that you silly red-head?" she asked, scuffing up Culdo's shaggy red hair. Culdo laughed. "Never I guess." he said. Veax let her own red-brown hair down and then put it back up in a pony. "So why'd you run all the way over here?" she asked. Culdo heaved another breath. "My wife, Linlic, would like to have you over for dinner tonight." he said. Veax blinked her eyes at Culdo in surprise. "You can little Lin got married? For real this time, right?" Veax teased. Culdo rolled his eyes, "Haha," he said, sarcastically. "Can you come?" he asked. Veax smiled. "Why not. When should I show up?" she asked. "Sundown." Culdo responded.

Veax waved bye to Culdo and then head off to see Vance. Had Elleron already made his move? Veax was anxious. She walked to the building that Vance was staying in as fast as she casually could.

When Veax reached the extra manor, Vance was not there. Veax asked around, and a few Vampires told her that he had gone to see the castle garden again. Veax went to the gardens strait away. She did not know why she was so worried, maybe it was just the fact that the most powerful Vampire in all of history was going to possess her friend. Maybe it was the fact that the most powerful Vampire in all history was in love with her. Or he at least felt connected to her.

Once at the gardens, Veax looked around. Vance was nowhere to be found. Veax quickly went to the hidden tunnel. She almost ran down the dark passage, tripping more than once. Finally Veax reached the main hall of the Obsidian castle. She looked around. No guards. Veax went behind the tapestry and down the near invisible staircase.

Veax was out of breath when she reached the library. Vance was not there either, at least not where Veax could see him. Taking in a deep breath, Veax headed towards the journal. Her pace slowed as she came closer to the old desk. She almost did not want to know whether Elleron had taken Vance or not now. But it was to late to turn back and when Veax turned the corner, what she saw left her frozen.

Betrayal (7)

7: A plan

Dorran was crouching over the stream. The Werewolves had been hunting more often now that they had started setting up a permanent camp and had left Dorran little time for hunting prey on land. Fish had fed Dorran for the past day and a half. The meat tasted fine, but the fish did not and could not satisfy his hunger for blood. Dorran would have to wait until the pack settled down in oder to fill that hunger.

Dorran was picking the small bones carefully out of his newly caught meal. He could just as easily crunched the bones in his mouth, but then they got stuck in his teeth and that was no fun. It was mid-day and the sun dappled the small little clearing near the stream. Dorran wondered what his dream was about. He could not remember very much, just that there was Jasperain and a female and they were in the middle of some huge battle.

Dorran was deep in thought when Jasperain's sent snapped Dorran out of his thoughts. Jasperain stepped into the clearing just a few minutes later. He looked like one of the fabled warriors of Lune with his antlers. He was truly a blessed wolf to have found and caught that buck. "Hey." Jasperain greeted Dorran simply, sitting down beside him. "Afternoon." Dorran nodded towards his new friend. "So, what took you so long?" Dorran asked jokingly. Jasperain smiled. "Since I'm deputy now, I've had to stay at the camp and help around. Alarik let me have a breather. So we can talk for a good hour." he said. Dorran could see now hard hard Jasperain had been working.

For about the first twenty minutes, Dorran and Jasperain talked about one another. It was interesting, learning about life in the packs. Dorran's father had taught him a thing or two, but not much and Dorran had picked up a thing or two from following the packs, but that had not given him anything big either. Jasperain seemed equally interested in Dorran's life. Then the topic of dreams came up and Dorran remembered his. "Oh! I just remembered." Dorran's ears pricked up. "I had a dream last night, and you and a female I don't know was in it." he said. Japserain looked up. "Tell me." he said. Dorran told what he remembered of his dream.

Jasperain sat cross-legged, looking over the stream, his golden eyes seemingly far away. Dorran waited. Jasperain finally spoke. "From what you tell me, that Vampire in your dream was Veax." he said, his voice as far off as his eyes. "And from where we were and what we were doing, I believe you have seen how Veax and I feel about this war." Jasperain said, finally looking at Dorran. Dorran nodded. "I saw you and her on the battlefield. I knew there had to be a good reason that you didn't kill her." he said in a low voice. Jasperain tilited his antlered head to one side. "You've been following us for that long?" he asked. Dorran nodded again. Jasperain looked away again. "Dorran...." he paused before continuing "Can you keep a secret?"Jasperain asked. Dorran chuckled. "I have no one to tell." he answered. "Good. Because I have a dream to tell you. It keeps coming back to me and I can't sleep. Lune wants to tell me something, and I just can't dream long enough to find out what it is." Jasperain said, his voice barely above a whisper. This caught Dorran's attention. "I'm listening."

Jasperain told Dorran of his dream. The blood covered clearing, the full moon, Veax. "And every time she tries to tell me what I promised her, thunder rolls through the sky and blocks her words. Then I kill her...." Jasperain was obviously quite troubled by this dream. Dorran thought it over. He had never had a recurring dream and he doubted that many did. "Jasperain," Dorran said, putting a paw and the younger wolf's shoulder "I don't know much about the beliefs of the packs and the ceremonies of your kin, but if I didn't know better, you are seeing visions from Lune." he concluded. It was the only thing that made sense to Dorran right now.

Jasperain did not seem to be encouraged by that thought. "But I have no one else to tell. If I were to tell anyone else of this dream I would be cased out of the pack or even killed for knowing a Vampire as something more than an enemy." he said, despair think on his words. "You don't have to say that you know her, you can just leave those parts out. It's a dream, a vision, you're not supposed to know everything you see or hear in it." Dorran pointed out. Jasperain picked his head up. "Why did I not think of that before?! Dorran, you might only be half my kin, but you must be blessed by the Moon and the powers of Lune." the antlered wolf exclaimed, his hope renewed. Dorran smiled. "I'm glad I could help." he said.

They talked about how Japserain should go about telling his pack shaman, Kacima, about his dream. It did not take long, and they were both happy and content when they agreed on the best plan of action. Then an idea came back to Dorran's mind. "Jasperain, I have an idea." He started with a smile on his face. Jasperain leaned closer, showing that he was listening. "I could sneak into the city and find Veax. I could talk to her and help plan ways for you two to meet, because I want to stop this war too." he stated. Jasperain looked surprised. "Won't know that you are not one of them? Wouldn't you smell different?" he asked, worried. Dorran shook his head. "If anyone asks, I could just say that I had spent some time where some Werewolves had previously hunted. That would be enough for them." he said. Japserain leaned back, thinking it over. "Alright. Heres all I know about Veax: her clan name is Bloodrain, she looks about twenty years old, she has dark red hair, and she has the sharpest and brightest ice blue eyes I have ever seen." Japserain told Dorran. Dorran nodded. Bloodrain, twenty, red hair, ice eyes. he went over the fact in his mind. "Thats all you have?" he asked. Japserain nodded. Dorran stood. "In that case, I'll head off. The Vampires like the day better than than night, and I want to catch her before she goes to bed." he said. Japserain stood beside him. "Our hour is almost up anyway and I need to clear your sent off me. So it works. I wish you luck, mu friend." he said. Dorran smiled warmly "And I wish you the same luck, my friend." and they parted ways.

Dorran had not changed to his most human form in a long time. He felt so much smaller. But he was smaller. His human form was at least two feet shorter than his wolven form and his overall body mass became smaller. He felt cramped now and he had three problems. The first was that his pants were to big, but that was an easy fix. the second problem was that he still had wolf ears on the top of his head. He would have to find a hat for that. Dorran's last problem was his tail. It was much to big to keep hidden in his pants. As he looked around for a vine that could hold his pants up, Dorran pondered what he should do about his tail.

As he was fastening his make-shift belt, the idea hit him. "I'll wrap my tail around my waist and make it look like my belt." he did this as he said it and surely enough, it worked. "Perfect. Now all I need to do is get into the city before night-fall, find a hat, and then find Veax." Dorran went over his to-do list.

He ran as fast as his human feet could take him and after an hour of running through the forest, he came upon the city's outer wall. It was a new addition to the city and not made of the same slick stone the inner wall was made of and in turn was easy to climb.

After he made it into the outer ring of the city, Dorran walked in the shadows, looking for a hat he could snag. Soon enough he found a man sleeping on a bench and Dorran gently slipped his hat off his head and then ran off as fast as he could.

His disguise complete, Dorran wondered how he was going to fin Veax. Her clan might have a manor here in the city, if so that would be the first place for me to look. If not, I'm screwed. he thought, looking at all the signs. Finally he found his way into a main square and there was a billboard of new events. "Lets see..." Dorran looked for the new arrivals part. "Aha!" he exclaimed, finding what he was looking for. "Twenty new clans have joined the city. The ones with manors are: Vell, Garnon, Shadow, and Bloodrain. All other clans are living in guest manors. All new arrivals are in the inner city." Dorran read the notice under his breath. Perfect. he thought and headed for the gates to the inner city.

Getting into the inner city was easier than Dorran had thought it would be. The only work he had to do was hide in a big group of people passing into the inner part of the city and then run off before anyone asked who he was.

Finding the Bloorain manor was another thing entirely. Dorran had been in other, smaller, Vampire inhabited cities before but this was the biggest city in the entire known land. Dorran walked around looking for a main square, hoping for another clue as to where he might find Veax.

About four and a half hours past and Dorran was worn out. He had been to all four main squares it the inner city and had no more information on the whereabouts of the Bloodrain manor than before. He had thought about asking where it was, but decided it was to risky.

He wandered aimlessly in the alleys for about another hour. Then his sensitive ears picked up the words "Bloodrain" and "blue eyed wonder". His hopes renewed, Dorran headed towards where the voices were coming from.

Four young looking male Vampires sat in a what looked like an old make-shift clubhouse in the alley. Dorran only got a small glimpse of them, and then retreated back into the shadows. He would hear what he wanted from where he was and not get caught. "I hear that Veax dragged yet another innocent man on her crazy adventures of the castle." one remarked. Dorran labeled him vamp one, just to keep track. The others laughed. "I remember those days. We had a lot of fun, sneaking into the castle. Veax was always at my window "C'mon Kaleb. Just one more look?" she would say." said another Vampire, chuckling as he spoke. He was labeled vamp two. "She did always go to your house first. I wonder why." said vamp three in a sly tone. "Yeah, why did she always get you first?" asked the forth. The second Vampire hesitated before replying. "Well.... Lets just say out of us four, I was the closest to Veax." he said in a low voice. The other three Vampire burst out in laughter. "Why wait until she comes back, seven years later, to tell us this?" the third asked. The second Vampire did not say anythign and Dorran guessed that he had shrugged or made some other silent gesture.

They talked about Veax for a little more. Just her sense of adventure and they tried to figure out who she had run off with earlier that morning. "I know!" the forth Vampire exclaimed. "Why don't we go to her place and ask her ourselves?" he suggested. Dorran hoped that they would do so. That would help him a lot in finding Veax and talking to her. "I bet she thinks we are all respectable Vampires that have no sense of adventure anymore." the first said chuckling. The others laughed with him. "Well then she's in for a big surprise. Lets go welcome Veax back home.

Dorran followed after the four Vampires with caution. they talked amongst themselves as they walked, discussing everyday things. Dorran moved his attention and concentration to keeping inconspicuous. A few Vampires glanced his way, probably because of his 'belt' but nothing more.

It was a good thirty more minutes of walking before they reached the Bloodrain city manor. Dorran marked where the manor was in the city mentally and was glad now that he had circled the whole inner city. The four Vampires went up to the front door and knocked. There was no answer. They rang the bell. Again no answer.

Someone out of sight giggled. Dorran watched the four Vampires from his hiding place. A young female Vampire with red hair came around the corner of the manor. "You idiots. Don't you remember that no one ever answers the front door?" she asked. "Veax!" the four yelled, running towards her. They each took turns hugging her and welcoming her back. My work here is done. I know where she is and who she is. Now I need to find a place for me to stay until she is alone. Dorran thought, and headed off.

He wanted someplace where he would be a short walking distance from Veax's home so that he would not loose his precious time with her. It took him until sundown to find a place to sleep. It was not the best of places, but he looked like a homeless Vampire anyways.

Dorran waited. Hopefully he wold be able to find Veax. Hopefully she would not turn on him. The moon was high in the sky now, but the crowed buildings hid it from Dorran's sight. He had not realized how much he craved the moon's light. It must be my wolven side. Being in this form probably isn't helping either.... he thought.

Not being able to stay in one place anymore, Dorran ventured out in the almost completely empty street. There were very few street lamps but Dorran could see better in the dark than any other Vampire, so finding Veax's manor was no problem. His problem now was finding Veax.

There was only one light left on in the manor that Dorran could see from where he was. It was on the top floor. Above that window, sitting on the roof, was someone. Their hair flowed around their their head like a little cloud. Dorran looked for the best way to get up on the roof and he found a series of balconies that would work like steps for Dorran.

Dorran pulled himself quietly onto the roof. He was on the opposite side of the manor than the person he had saw, but that was a good thing. This would give Dorran time to see if this person was the person her was looking for.

Dorran walked slowly to the person sitting on the edge of the roof. From where he was now, Dorran could tell that is was a woman. This was good. Her hair was to dark to see the color, but Dorran could have sworn there was a tint of red to it. But that just might his mind playing tricks on him.

Dorran was about six feet from the woman. He could see now that her hair was red. Dorran tip-toed closer, but he stepped on a loose tile and that was a sound that the woman deffitnetly heard. She turned her head slightly, showing that she knew someone was there. "Vance?" she asked. It was Veax's voice, but it could have been her sibling for all that Dorran knew. "No." Dorran responded, staying where he was to show that he respected her space. The woman turned around. Her ice eyes shone clearly despite the dim light. "Who are you then, stranger?" she asked, her tone completely calm. "My name is Dorran Solitan. I'm looking for Veax Bloodrain?" it was Dorran's turn to ask a question. The woman nodded. "I am she. How do you know my name?" her voice held more suspicion now. Dorran took a few steps closer and knelt down. "Jasperain Quicksilver is a friend of mine as well." he said quietly.

The look on Veax face was one of utter surprise. "What!?" she exclaimed, standing. "Who are you really and how do you know about my knowing Jasperain?" Veax demanded. Dorran did not blame her for her reaction. "I am really Dorran Solitan," he said, sitting down completely now. "And I know about you and Jasperain because I saw you two on the battlefield. I followed his pack form there and he found me." Dorran siad, keeping his cool. He didn't want to scare her off.

Veax seemed to calm down a little more. "You don't look like the type of Vampire that would follow a pack of Werewolves that big single-handedly. I can't think of any Vampire that would." she said, still standing. Dorran looked her in the eye. 'Thats because I'm not a Vampire." Dorran said, and before Veax could ask he said "Nor am I a Werewolf in Human form. But at the same time I am both." he finished. Dorran left Veax to realize what he was saying.

It took her a moment, but once Veax understood what Dorran was telling her, she completely calmed down, and sat across from him. "You're a Werepyre?" she asked, her icy eyes glowing with a new excitement and curiosity. Dorran nodded. "Yes. I'm a Werepyre. But we can talk about that later." Dorran held up his hand to stop Veax from complaining. "I need to know a place where the two of us can talk safely. Somewhere alone. Then I can tell you all you want to know." Dorran had just been overcome with a feeling of caution. He felt like someone was there with him and Veax. Watching them. Veax stood. "Follow me." she said quietly. Dorran nodded, got up, and followed Veax to a trap door in the roof.

Veax showed Dorran into her room, the one with the light on. It was a small room and Dorran only got a glance at it. The biggest thing in the room was the canopy bed that literately filled half of the room, as in it was half the room. Veax opened a door and looked out into the hallway. "It's clear. C'mon." she said, gesturing with her hand. As Dorran followed her, he could have sworn he saw a man out of the corner of his eye, but there was no one there. You're just nervous, Dorran. he told himself.

Veax lead him through twisting hallways and down winding stairs. It seemed to never end. But at long last, Veax ushered Dorran through a door, and then closed and locked it. They were definitely under the manor now. Veax picked up a small box and took something out of it. Then there was a small flare of light as she struck a match. Veax held the match to a torch and the small and empty wine cellar lit up.

They sat on the stone floor. "So, can you prove to me that you're a Werepyre?" Veax asked. Dorran nodded, took off his hat and let his tail unwind itself from his waist. Veax looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "That could just tell you're a Werewolf in Human form." she pointed out. Dorran chuckeld. "I suppose it would. Here." He smiled, his Vampiric fangs showing clearly in the torchlight. Veax smiled, pleased. "Alright. I'm convinced." she said.

From there, they talked in hushed voices and Dorran told Veax about Jasperain and his antlers and his being deputy now. Veax cursed when she heard that, but was open to Dorran's idea about him being a link between her and Jasperain. Dorran then remembered Jasperain's dream. "Veax....." he started. "Yes?" she looked at Dorran with her head cocked to one side. Dorran took a deep breath and told her of Jasperain's dream. She was quiet as Dorran spoke.

When Dorran finished, Veax looked up. "I don't know what to say to that." she said in a small, far off voice. "I just thought you might want to know. Jasperain told me that he kept having this dream. It might be a vision, a warning." Dorran said, not knowing what else to say. Veax nodded. "It might be a message, but Jasperain has not promised me anything. Not yet at least." she said. "But I do have something slightly related to that topic I want to tell you about." Veax lowered her eyes to meet Dorran's. "I had a dream last night, and Vampires almost never dream." she said. Veax seemed worried about this. Really worried. "Tell me. It'll help." Dorran encouraged.

Veax was quiet for a while and then she started telling Dorran of the Obsidian Castle, the hidden stairs, the supposedly dead Vampire king. "And then earlier today, Vance Warxen and I went down there. There was journal and in it was Elleron's words. It was real, Dorran. He was really there in my dream! I really went into the castle and down those stairs with some one. But I woke up in my bed. And now Elleron is going to look for someone to control or something so he can be closer to me." Veax told Dorran, her voice thick with distress. Dorran put a hand on her shoulder. "Well you can't ignore it. I suggest to go to bed and if you see Elleron again, try to gain control within your dream and talk to him. Ask him to clear things up for you." He said. Veax nodded. "Thanks Dorran. Can you stay here? No one goes down to this cellar anymore. We made a bigger one a few years before me moved out of the city, so you'll be safe." she asked. Dorran smiled. "Yeah. I can stay. I'll lock the door just to be sure." he said as Veax opened the door. "Alright. I'll say "mixed" when I want to come in, 'kay?" she asked. Dorran nodded. Veax smiled, closed the door and left. Dorran lock the door behind her, and tried to get some sleep.

FIMC (another spur of the moment story)

Falcon Institute for the Magically Capable or FIMC is an institute for anyone and everyone capable of using magic. This does not mean that everyone goes to FIMC. In fact, there are very few students. FIMC is 'low grade' magic school, meant to teach gifted humans of the common class. All the powerful demons, fairies, ghouls, angels, the whole lot of those kinds creatures, and the eventual rich human, went to more 'high grade' magic schools like Bills of Light University, or Kregan's School of Magix.

Betz went to FIMC. She loved it there. It reminded her a lot of home, which was a huge mansion up in the mountains by a lake. There was a lot of open space and with the low count of students, it was a very quiet place and Betz always had the library to herself.

Betz was not one of the nerds or geeks, but she did not fit in with the popular crowd either. She, in a way, was her own label. Betz was different from most of the other kids, and the few that were like her kept to themselves. Or so Betz thought.

It was about eleven thirty and Betz was heading back to her dorm from the library. She took the outside rout because it was a warm summer night and she wanted to look at the starts for a moment before she went to bed.

She stood in the center of the garden that was the entrance to the girls side. It was a cloudless night and the smell of roses was heavy on the breeze. "Evening Betz." a seducing whisper came into Betz's ear. It was male, but this was a magic school, so it could be anybody. Betz whipped around, looking for the speaker. She could not see anybody. "Who are you?" Betz asked the air. She hoped and prayed that all the others girls were sound asleep and would not hear any of this. "Oh, nobody." the voice said in a sly tone. It was still the same honey covered whisper as before. The sort of whisper that a stereotype bad-boy would have. "Well if you're nobody, why do you hide? If you were really nobody, it wouldn't matter if I could see you or not." Betz said a matter-of-factly. The voice chuckled softly. "True, true. In that case I am somebody. But I'm not going to tell you which somebody I am." he said smoothly. Betz could just imagine a sly smile spread over this invisible somebody's lips. "Well, with the security of the school, you are a student. Right?" she asked. "Yes." the voice said. Betz took that answer into account. "And am I right in thinking you are male?" she asked, wondering if she could track where he was by getting him to talk. "Yes." The answer came from a different place this time. Betz bit her lip, she could not find him by talking to him because he was circling her, and unless she could ask questions, figure out he who was and tried to calculate where he was all at the same time, she would just have to live with talking to the air until he showed himself. "Alright, that take more than half of the students off my list." Betz said. Her only problem was that she did not know any of the boys at school. "Okay, um... Are you using magic to make yourself invisible?" she asked. "No. It's natural for me to just blend in and go unnoticed." the voice responded. Betz nodded. The list had just gotten much much smaller. "So, you're not human?" she asked, wanting to make sure she was on the right path. "Yes." he validated Betz's thoughts. "That leaves me with two students. You are either the true blood vampire or the demonpyre. Correct?" Betz had given up trying to follow the boy's voice. It was making her dizzy. "Yes." he chuckled again, obviously pleased that Betz had almost figured him out. "Well, given that vampires are supposed to stand out in order to attract prey, you much be the demonpyre." Betz brought it up to an end. "You are very clever, miss Flare." the voice said approvingly.

Betz tried to remember the name of the one demonpyre in the school. She knew his last name had something to do with a bird, but that was all she had. "I am Darius Nightingale." he said, as if he had read Betz's thoughts. He still had not showed himself. "Alright, Darius," Betz paused "May I ask what you are doing here, so close to the girls side?" she asked. Darius chuckled. "You look tasty." he answered in a voice that sent shivers up Betz's spine. Not the usual shivers of fear but the other kind of shivers. "So you look at me as a snack?" Betz asked, an unsure edge to her voice. Darius laughed softly. "Ha ha, no. A snack is much to simple. I was thinking a feast, you are much more beautiful and more sophisticated than a snack." he commented. Betz flushed. "Thank you?" she said it more as a question then as a statement. "Your welcome." he whispered into Betz's ear, his warm breath on her neck.

Betz jumped, Darius now had his arms wrapped around her and his head was floating by her ear. "I've been watching you for a while now Betz, and I must say; you are intriguing." he whispered, his voice dripping with honey. Betz, despite her trying not to, melted back into Darius' arms. "Oh?" she questioned. Darius nodded. "It's in my nature to seek out one prey and keep him or her close for many many reasons." he whispered, his arms pulling Betz even closer. "So what are my choices, now that I am your prey of choice?" Betz asked. Her father had taught her much about hybrids, and demonpyres had been on that list. She knew that even with her magic, Betz did not have a chance in fighting a demonpyre and that she should see the peaceful ways out before she decided to run or fight. "Well, you can accept the fact that you are the only women that has ever caught my interest in my life, and commit your body to my hunger and your time to me or you can try to avoid me, in which case I will try even harder to win you over." he said simply.

Betz tried to breath normally. She failed. Her heart was racing now. She had never been this close to a man in her life. Yes she had hugged her father, but that was a completely different relationship and situation than this. That was hard for most people to believe, given that Betz was seventeen. Her thoughts were racing and she could not think strait. But after a moment or two of silence in Darius' arms, Betz answered. "Let me talk to my father. I'm going to go see him this weekend. I'll give you my answer after I've gone over a few things with him." she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "As you wish." Darius whispered and than he was gone, just as sudden as he had come.

Betz opened the door to her dorm. Emily, and Tabby were talking in hushed voiced and giggling. They went silent when Betz walked in. Tabby was the first to talk. "And why, might I asked, is your face so red?" she asked with a giggle. Betz started getting out of her uniform and into her pajamas. "I...." she sat down on the edge of her bed, unsure what to tell the two gossip girls. "I just got the most intriguing offer." Betz said, and left it at that. She was not lying, just not telling the whole truth.

Bubblegum?

(small spur of the moment story.)

Chelsie was late. She was always late. That put Betz off. In this line of work you had to be on time. No matter what. And what was worse, Chelsie had been working here for at least two years longer then Betz. The bell on the front door rang as someone walked in. It was a young woman, about five foot three with long curly blond hair. The woman walked over to the table that Betz sat at, chewing quite loudly on some bubblegum. "You're late." Betz said sternly. Chelsie blew a large bubble that popped with a large sound. Betz cringed, she hated Chelsie. Chelsie was the daughter a rich man and never let anyone forget that. "I saw some shoes and just had to get them." Chelsie said sitting down. "As if that lets you off for being late. This is big Chelsie. As in you could have gotten fired for being late big." Betz tried to tell Chelsie how big of a deal this new mission was. Chelsie was looking at her nails, not paying attention to Betz. "Chelsie!" Betz slammed her fist on the table. Everone in the small diner looked over to them. Betz did not care. She got looks like that a lot. Chelsie on the other hand did care. "What?" she finally said, her attention on Betz now. "The monsters came out of the sewers last night and killed five civilians. You and I are to go and investigate." Betx summarized the mission up into a quick few sentences. Chelsie shrugged. "Why didn't you say so, lets go." she said, getting up. Betz cursed under her breath and the two of them walked out of the diner.

Betrayal (6)

6: Back home

Veax sat on the rooftop of the old Bloodrain manor overlooking the city. It was a beautiful view. The cool night air flowed through her loose red hair. Veax rarely let her hair down like this now. It was just to troublesome out in the country to let her hair down.

"You look good with your hair down." a smooth voice spoke from behind Veax. She turned around. It was Vance. The image of him covered in blood flashed across Veax's mind, but she shook herself from it. "Thank you." Veax said lightly. Vance would have to settle for that.

Vance came and sat beside Veax. "Your city is beautiful." he said. Veax smiled. "Yeah, it is." memories of running through the city streets and sneaking into the castle flowed through her mind. It was fun living in the city. "Care to give me a tour tomorrow?" Vance asked, looking over to Veax, a sort of gleam in his amber eyes. Veax shrugged. "Why not?"

Vance was called away before he could say anything else. That was a slight relief to Veax. It was so much easier for her to think alone.

Jasperain had not tried to talk to Veax since their last meeting, four days ago. Why did Veax want to see this Werewolf so badly? Veax looked up to the sky. It was slowly dimming with arivial of night.

Veax smirked as she thought of the Human myths about Vampires. They said that Vampires preferred the night because they burned up in the sun. But those beliefs were quite wrong. In fact, Vampires liked the day-time better. The wolves had night as their domain.

That brought Veax back to Jasperain and the Werewolf pack. The previous night Veax had been out and she had heard the far off sound of howls. She dismissed it as the howls of some wild wolves, but now she knew it had been the pack. What had they been doing? Veax almost did not want to know.

The city tower chimed midnight. Veax had many happy memories of this city that had taken place at midnight. Most of them were sneaking out of the house to go and play with the 'bad-boys' of the city. Those boys were grown, married, and perfect gentlemen now. Or at least, that was what Veax was told. But, Veax's best memories laid in the Obsidian castle. A castle in the center of the city carved of a black stone that had fallen from the skies thousands of years before. It was called the Obsidian castle because that was what it looked like. But no one had come up with a name for the mysterious stone that was stronger than diamond and steal combined. No one but Elleron.

Veax stood. She would visit the castle tomorrow. And maybe bring Vance along for the ride. Yes, Veax would give Vance a tour he would never forget.

Veax stood in the main hall of the Obsidian castle. She was out of breath. There was a young man standing beside her. Veax could not see him clearly. "Where can we hide?!" he asked frantically. Veax looked around. Where could they hide in this huge open space? Then she remembered! "This way! Quick!" She ushered the man towards a tapestry. Behind the giant carpet was two doors with a big solid space between them. "Walk into the space between the doors." she hissed at him. The man looked uncertain, but Veax pushed him into the space. Veax had found this secret entrance when she leaned up against the tapestry and fell through. The 'solid' space between the two doors was in fact a opening that was cleverly made to look like a real wall. The two of them ran down the stone stairs. But wait, Veax had remembered the stairs leading up. What had happened? Finally they reached the bottom of the stairs. It was a huge library under the castle. There was a tall caped man standing in the middle of the room. He had platinum-blond hair and wore a crown of the same black stone the castle was made out of. "King Elleron...." Veax voice was so quiet, she might as well just thought the words. The fabled king turned around, a sly grin across his lips. "I was waiting for you, Veax." he said in a voice as cold as ice, but still as smooth as honey. The man she had run down the stairs with was slowly backing away as Elleron approached Veax. He took her up in his icy embrace and......

Veax woke up in a cold sweat. She had dreamed? Vampires never got the deep into sleep to dream. But dream Veax had. "I have to see if that passage leads down." Veax said, getting out of bed and getting dressed.

Veax was quiet all through breakfast. Nasya chattered on as usual. Carthem was also quiet, but obviously bothered by something. Veax finished eating and quickly excused herself from the table before Carthem could say anything about whatever he was thinking to her.

After packing a small lunch of a ham sandwich and a small keg of wine, Veax headed off to where Vance and the other clans were living as of right now.

It was not hard to find Vance. He was the 'bad-boy loner' of his clan and was patiently waiting for Veax in the center of the little circle of houses that his clan was living in. "You're here earlier than I thought you'd be." Vance noted as Veax came to stand a few feet away from him. "I want to see something in the castle. Pack some food and c'mon." Veax said, itching to get on with her search.

Vance came out a moment later with a small bag slung over his back. "Ready?" Veax asked. "Ready." he responded. "Good." with that, Veax showed Vance a easy way out of the circle of houses. She could tell that Vance had questions, but she wanted to get away from everybody else before she said anything else.

They finally reached one of the city's four main squares. It was flooded with Humans and Vampires going from place to place. "So are you going to show me around the city, or are we just going to go to the castle?" Vance asked, a smirk on his face. He found Veax amusing. Veax giggled. "Since you asked, we are going to the castle first." she said with a smile. Vance chuckled and dashed after Veax as she sped through the crowd, headed for the Obsidian castle.

It only took Veax and Vance fifteen minutes to get tot he castle at the pace Veax was running. The huge castle loomed over them as they approached it. "So how are we getting inside?" Vance asked. Obviously they could not just walk in. Veax smiled slyly. "We get in the same way I got in when I lived here." she said.

Veax showed Vance around the east side of the castle to the gardens that were open to the public. There was more people in the gardens then Veax would have liked. "Pretend that you took me here to see the flowers." she told Vance quietly as the walked into the gardens. Vance nodded and smiled.

Veax showed the way to the secret entrance into the castle discreetly as Vance pretended to show her the various flowers. Veax could tell that Vance was enjoying this. Well he should be smart enough to know that it's just for show. Veax thought to herself. They reached the entrance without notice and Veax ushered Vance inside.

It was dark in the hidden tunnel, but the faint light from outside was enough for both Veax and Vance to work their way down the tunnel. They did bump into one another now and again, but Veax moved away as fast as possible.

After five minutes of stumbling over one another in the near pitch-black tunnel, Veax and Vance came out behind a huge statue of a dragon in the main hall. Veax listened for the footsteps of guards. Nothing. Good. She silently showed Vance over to and behind the huge tapestry. Veax headed for the secret doorway and slipped inside. Vance stood in total confusion for a minute or two, but Veax pulled him in.

Veax gasped. They stairs did lead down. "What is it?" Vance asked, worry lining his words. "Last time I came here, the stairs lead up, not down....." Veax said, still stunned. Vance started down the stairs. "Well lets see whats down here." He said, holding his hand out to Veax. Veax took it and followed him down the stairs, almost scared to know what was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

The hidden library that Veax had seen in her dream was what her and Vance walked into. But no one else was in the vast space. Veax had to hold in a sigh of relief. She walked around the space, running her fingers across the spines of the old books. Vance followed her, his interest solely on her and her body. Veax almost did not care, books fascinated her.

She walked until she found what seemed to be the center of the library. There was a dusty oak desk sitting the center of the small space with an open book on it. Veax went over to the large high-backed padded armchair and sat down. It was quite comfortable. Veax leaned over the huge book, it was open slightly past the middle. Now what was strange was that the book had not one speck of dust on it. In fact it looked brand new. In dark red ink words that Veax did not understand were written. Vance had come to stand next to the chair and was looking at the book as well. "This is written in goblin...." he noted. "You can read it?" Veax asked, interested in knowing what was written on the parchment. Vance nodded. "Yeah, goblin was a language I was taught along with English." he said, his eyes running across the pages. "Can you read it to me?" Veax asked. Vance nodded and pointed to the top right corner of the right page. "This is the date, it says: Siht yrtne koot ecalp no eht yad, neetenin sthgin morf eht sselnoom yks." he said in goblin. "Care to translate?" Veax asked, jokingly. Vance chuckled. "Sure. I said: This entry took place on the day, nineteen nights from the moonless sky." Vance closed his eyes, thinking. "This entry was written yesterday...." he mumbled. Veax looked to the rest of the page. "Can you read it all to me? In English?" she asked Vance, who seemed to be already reading it. "Hm? Oh yes, may I sit?" Veax got up and motioned to the chair for Vance. Vance sat down and leaned over the book. "Lets see. It reads: Last night I saw her. She came here in her dreams, but with my power I could see her, speak to her, and feel her. She is just like the others. Just right. But there was something about her, something strange. Given that I could see into her mind, I knew her secrets. This woman had befriended a Werewolf. Is that not taboo now? I don't know. I just know that I must see her more, speak to her more. Feel her warm skin on my fingertips. I was wrong about my weakness, the diamond of the Ice Caves only 'kills' me like Haythia had killed me. I know not what can kill me, but this woman might just keep me from looking for that weakness. If I could find a body, a someone I could become to get closer to her, I would use it. I would make her mine. I don't need a kingdom. I just need someone to fill this hole in my being. It is driving me insane to live like this. Hopefully she saw me. Hopefully she will came back." Vance stopped. Veax had to hide her expression of fear under her expression of surprise. "King Elleron wrote this....." she whispered. "Its seems to be so." Vance said, equally surprised.

They left the book and headed back to where they had come into the hidden library. Veax felt out of breath. That was Elleron. He was here. He had taken me into his arms. This is much to much for me. He knows I know Jasperain, knows that I sympathise with them.He siad he would find the body of someone close to me to control.... Vance...... Veax slowly drew up to the conclusion.

Veax and Vance sat down and emptied their bags. Vance had also brought a sandwich and a small keg of wine. They sat and ate in silence. Veax wondered what to do. Should she cut herself off from Vance in all ways? No, Elleron would find someone else. Veax sighed. Maybe she would see him again tonight.

Betrayal (5)

5: New arrival

Dorran had been following a pack of Werewolves and a large group of Vampire clans for about a week now. He did not know much about the Vampires. Just that they were heading towards the main city. As for the Werewolves, all Dorran knew was that they were the Quicksilver pack. That Dorran found ironic. Silver was the metal that killed the Werewolves. Dorran wondered why they picked that name. But given the sheer size of the pack, Dorran guessed that the real meaning of the name had been lost in time.

Has of right now, Dorran padded about a mile behind the pack. He was walking on all fours like the Werewolves usually did when traveling. He could not wait for them to settle down somewhere. His paws were stating to hurt. Dorran had been traveling longer than either the pack or the Vampires. In fact, Dorran had traveled his entire life. Well, it was not really traveling. It was more like running. Running away from the packs and the clans.

As Dorran traveled through the forest, the sent of Vampires became stronger and stronger. Why is the pack risking getting this close to the Vampires? Dorran wondered. It definitely not because they randomly decided to make peace. No, the Werewolves were as stubborn about this war as the Vampires were.

It was mid-day when the pack stopped. They were camping in the same exact spot the Vampires camped the night before. What are they planning? Dorran could not help but wonder.

As Dorran watched the pack set up their small camp he thought over the few things he saw in the past week. There were two things that really intrigued him. The first thing was that he had seen a Werewolf and a Vampire exchange words during a battle three days ago. Yes, Vampires and Werewolves exchanged words of hate all the time, but this was different. They had spoken in an uncertain peace, but peace it was. Dorran had not been close enough to hear what they said, but he had seen their faces and they were in truce. The second thing that caught his attention was that the same wolf that spoke to the Vampire female had just undergone his Lune ceremony and was granted antlers from one of the Moon's bucks. That was unusual. How had that buck been caught by that wolf? Deer that belonged to the Moon were smarter, stronger, better in all ways than other deer. The Moon and Lune had something special in store for that wolf. Dorran wished he had that wolf's luck.

The Quicksilver pack finally settled down and about fifteen wolves went out to hunt. This was the worst time for Dorran to be out. If any of the pack saw him, he would be finished. Yeah, he was a loner, and most loners were welcomed in. But Dorran was the one kind of loner that would be ripped to shreds on the spot. He was a half-breed. A disgrace to both races. Dorran was a Werepyre.

Dorran was pulled out of his sad thoughts when he saw the horned wolf head out of camp to hunt. Out of curiosity, Dorran followed him.

The horned wolf did not go to far, just to some boulders by a stream. But what surprised Dorran was that there was the smell of Vampires here. The sent was about a day old, but still lingering in the night air. What was the Werewolf doing here?

Dorran did not have to wait long to find out. The horned wolf knelled down next to the boulder on the left. "Damn Veax...." he mumbled. "I need to see you. My pack is calling the others tonight and when they get here, they'll raid the city." the wolf's voice was think with worry. Was this 'Veax' the Vampire he had spoken to on the battlefield? "And now that I'm deputy, I have to help them raid the city. But there is still so much I want to talk to you about. So much I want to know about you and why you're against the war...." he continued. "May mother Moon and Lune grant us another meeting in peace soon." the wolf finished and stood.

The wind changed just then. And to Dorran's dismay, he was now upwind of the horned wolf. "Who's there?!" the wolf demanded, standing to his full height, and with those antlers, he looked pretty scary. "Show yourself!" he demanded again, turning in Dorran's direction. Dorran knew that no matter what he did, this wolf would find him.

After pulling himself together, Dorran stepped out of the forest and into the small clearing near the stream. The Werewolf was completely taken aback. Dorran looked like any other Werewolf with a red-black pelt and orange eyes. The only two differences about his features were his huge bat wings and unusually long and sharp canines. "Who, what, are you?" the horned wolf questioned. Dorran looked down. "I am Dorran Solitan and I am a Werepyre." he said glumly. The wolf just looked at him. "Werepyre? As in half Werewolf, half Vampire?" he questioned. Dorran nodded.

To Dorran's surprise, the wolf placed a paw on his shoulder. "I thought I'd never meet someone like you." he said, his golden eyes filled with calm. It was Dorran's turn to be taken aback. "So you're not going to go and get the rest of your pack to hunt me down?" he asked, hope growing slowly in his heart. The Werewolf nodded. "No. I won't go back to m clan and tell them about you. But right now, I need to go. I'm needed back at the camp. Tomorrow, meet me here. If I don't show up, thats because I've got something to do in the pack that I can't get away from. Alright?" the horned wolf said, smiling. Dorran lit up like a excited cub. "I'll camp here. Just to make things easier." he told the wolf.

Dorran noticed something as the horned wolf left. "Ey! Whats your name?" Dorran called to him. "Jasperain Quicksilver." he said. With that he sped off into the woods, off to actually hunt now.

Dorran sat between the two boulders wondering who Veax was. He knew what she was, but he wanted to know what she had said to get Jasperain all wrapped up in her. Then a genius idea came to his mind. "I'll ask Jasperain what Veax looks like! Then I'll change to my Human form and find her. I can sneak into the main city better than any Werewolf." he told himself with a smile.

About two hours later, the moon had risen fully in the night sky and the howling began. It was the pack. They were calling all the rest of the Werewolves from the main land. They trusted in the power of Lune to carry their voices on the wind to the other packs. By the time the Werewolf hoard got here, it would be full moon. The best time for the hoard to attack. They would only recognise their own kin and slaughter all others.
Dorran was standing with a Vampire female and Jasperain. They were the only thing between the Werewolf hoard and the Vampire army. The sky was black with the smoke of burning buildings, Dorran did not know whether it was day or night. The ground was covered in the blood of both races. Jasperain readied himself for attack while the Vampire female drew her sword. The strange thing was, they were facing their own race. As if they wanted drive back their own kin back to the shadows they came from. Jasperain and the Vampire looked at Dorran and nodded, showing him that they would all go down together. Dorran nodded in return. He knew what was going to happen now and readied himself for the pain that ran his way.

Dorran sat up. He had almost fallen into the stream. "What the hell was that?" he asked himself, remembering the dream in a vague fuzziness. He would have to tell Jasperain about this.

It had been mid-day when Dorran had woken up. Though by the looks of it, the pack had been awake since dawn. The camp was starting to take on a permanent look. Make-shift dens were being made out of wood and stone and held together by flexible roots and mud.

Dorran could see Jasperain talking to a large red-pelted wolf. By the way that Jasperain addressed the wolf, Dorran assumed that he was the Alpha. Which brought back the little tidbit of information that Dorran had heard the night before; Jasperain was the deputy of the Quicksilver clan.

Dorran did not want to stay and watch the pack all day, so he decided to see if he could catch a glimpse of the clans before the entered the city. He had to push his limbs to their limit so that he could see the clans. They must have reached the one mile marker to the city by now.

Dorran got to the city walls just in time to see the Vampire clans arrive. At the front was a tall brown-haired Vampire who was obviously in charge. Beside him stood two female Vampires. One looked about twelve with red-brown hair. The other was a tall slender woman who looked like she was in her early twenties with red hair.

Dorran could hear what the head Vampire told the gourds at the gate. "I am Carthem of the Bloodrain clan. These are my daughters, and all these Vampires behind be are from many other clans collected together." He said, gesturing to all the Vampire behind him. "A pack as large as all of us combined is heading this way and we seek refuge in the city." Carthem explained. The guard nodded and signaled for the gate to be opened.

Dorran walked back to the stream. His was worn out and did not want to push himself any further. Hopefully he would recover before the hoard arrived. Night was already dominating the light of day when Dorran reached the boulders. He gulped down seaveral mouthfuls of water when he arrived.

Hunger was another problem for Dorran. He had to be careful and hunt after the pack did. But the time it took them to hunt was never the same, so Dorran had gone about five days without food. The real problem here was that he had not fed in a month or so. Dorran knew he could last about two months without blood, but it was better for his health and sanity if he fed regularly.

Jasperain did not show up that night. Dorran knew that he must have had some deputy job to do and could not get away. Jasperain had told Dorran about that, so he was not surprised. But Dorran felt alone again. He hated feeling alone. He had been alone all of the three-hundred years he had been alive. His parents had been found out and killed. They had tried to kill Dorran too, but had was a small cub and got away. Dorran had been running ever since.

Betrayal (4)

4: Almost there now

the sun had just set and Jasperain was out hunting. The antlers on his head began to shine more and more in the moonlight as the days passed. Kacima said it was because Japserain was giving the antlers something to grow on, therefore making them shine. Jasperain, was the only wolf in his pack that had such a signature of maturity other than Kacima, who had a skull attached to his head. All the other wolves had small objects, like stones or charms embedded in their chests, hidden by their long fur.

Jasperain caught onto the sent of some Humans. He followed the sent through the forest. What was that second sent? Vampires? Was the pack camping that close to the Vampire's camp? No, they would not take that risk. So the Vampires must have left the camp to hunt.

Jasperain stopped at some bloody boulders by a deep stream. The Human's sent was stong now, but still stale. He sniffed the air. What?! he exclaimed in his mind. Veax's sent was here. It was not very strong underneath the sent of scared Human but it was there none-the-less. She had been here about an hour ago, with another Vampire. Jasperain wondered who.

After he left the spot where Veax and the other Vampire fed, he found two young does grazing in a small forest clearing. They would do for Jasperain's hunt.

The does had no chance against Jasperain's speed and now were slung over his back. A hot blazing fire up burning in the center of camp, it was the third half moon since Fregor, the deputy, had died and Alarik needed to choose a new deputy. Jasperain laid the two deer in the pile of prey by the fire. The older cubs were skinning and gutting the prey while the younger cubs were cooking the meat.

Kacima came up to Japserain, Cregan at his side. "Jasperain, since you are now of maturity, you may participate in the ceremony." Kacima said, nodding towards the fire. Jasperain smiled and bowed.

The fire was unusually cool against Jasperain's fur. Alarik was centering himself with the half Moon away from the fire. Beryl sat by the fire. She was a big wolf with an ashen pelt and pale green eyes. For some reason that Jasperain never understood, Beryl did not like him. Tabrez, Fregor's son also sat by the fire. The other wolves stood in small groups, quietly talking about who Alarik would choose.

Jasperain felt out of place now with his antlers and Cregan was always with Kacima now, so Japserain had no none to talk to. Well he could talk to anybody in the pack, but not everybody was as enthusiastic as Cregan.

The moon rose fully in the starry night sky. Kacima and Cregan gathered up all the cubs and sent them away from the fire. Alarik came back, the power of Lune shining in his eyes. All the pack that could participate came to stand by the fire.

Beryl glared at Jasperain. He flinched back from her hateful eyes. Beryl was fifteen years older then him and always like this. Kacima and Cregan stepped between Beryl and Jasperain and began the ceremony. "Oh Lune, granter and taker of our power and sanity, we call upon thy sight! Through Alarik, pack Alpha, choose the wolf you would want as the next deputy!" Kacima and Cregan called up to the Moon at once.

Alarik's eyes lit up, shining as bright as the full moon on a clear night now. He walked around the fire, meeting the eyes of each and every one of the silently waiting wolves. Kacima and Cregan chanted in low voices.

When Alarik looked every wolf in the eye he took up his spot between Kacima and Cregan. "Oh Lune, granter and takerof our power and sanity, we call upon your voice! Through Alarik, pack Alpha, show us the wolf you want as the Quicksilver pack deputy!" the two shamans called towards the moon again. Alarik's eyes dimmed and became as black as a night with no moon. He turned and faced Jasperain with his black eyes and in a voice that was not his own he spoke, "Lune hath chosen thy as the deputy of the Quicksivler pack." he pointed at Jasperain.

Jasperain froze. What?! Me? the surprised showed clearly on his face. Beryl glared at Jasperain furiously, but said nothing. Tabrez and everyone else looked at startled as Jasperain felt.

Kacima placed his hand on Jasperain's shoulder. "Lune has chosen you as deputy. Fulfill the task." he told Jasperain, handing him a silver dagger. Jasperain looked into the fire. He had to cut his palm and hold it over the open flame. The power of Lune would then heal his wound through the fire if he was truly was the one Lune had chosen. Jasperain had seen wolves who had not really been meant to be deputy howl in pain when the fire seared their flesh.

Jasperain took a breath and then cut his palm. The silver blade stung and cut deeper than Jasperain had meant it to. Cregan nodded to Jasperain, telling him that all was going to be alright.

The fire hurt, but did not burn. It was an odd feeling. Jasperain could feel the flames licking his palm and felt a strange sense of peace. His palm tensed up for a moment and then loosened again, the pain gone. Cregan took Jasperain's hand out of the fire. His palm was completely healed except for the scar that ran across it.

Alarik was out of his trance now and smiling proudly at Jasperain. Alarik held out out his paw, his palm was also scared. Jasperain shook it, the official ending of the ceremony. There were howls of joy and the cubs were allowed to come back.

Tabrez was the first to congratulate Jasperain. "I thought you might be chosen." he said, smiling. Jasperain smiled back. "I honestly thought it would be you." he said. Tabrez chuckled. "Most everybody did."

The meat was cooked to perfection by now and there was much feasting. Beryl was the only wolf that seemed to not be having a good time. Jasperain knew why: he had been chosen and she had not.

Cregan came and sat beside Jasperain. "I can't believe it Jasp!" he exlaimed with a smile. "I could feel Lune emanating form Alarik. It was so empowering." he said, lost in the memory. Jasperain chuckled softly. Cregan was such a wistful wolf. But Jasperain's thoughts were on his new job. He had to be deputy. That was a lot of responsibility and left him little time to do anything. It left him with no time to go and sneak over to Veax. No time to learn more about her.

The feasting ended and the fire had dwindled down to shimmering embers. Most of the wolves had gone to sleep, but Jasperain stayed by the embers. So many questions in his mind were going to go unanswered. Alarik pulled him back to the present. "Jasperain?" he asked softly. Jasperain looked up at the Alpha. "Yeah?" he asked in return. "You look unsure of yourself." Alarik said, sitting down next to Jasperain. "I'm just stunned. I never thought I'd be chosen deputy." Jasperain explained half of what was worrying him. Alarik chuckled. "I know what you're feeling. But don't worry. Things always work themselves out in time." the Alpha said encouragingly. "Yeah, things do work out in time...." Jasperain said, looking up to the sky, his hope renewed.

Jasperain got little sleep that night. Horrible images flashed behind his eyes every time he finally fell asleep. It was terrible. Jasperain wished he had someone in the pack to talk to about his nightmares, but if he told anyone, they would knew about him and Veax. Every image that passed through his mind was of Veax and in each image, she was hurt or injured in someway. Her pale face and icy eyes were red with her tears of blood. What had Jasperain promised to her? He needed to know, so that he would not make this mistake he kept seeing. But Veax's voice was always blocked by thunder, leaving Jasperain in the dark as he tore Veax apart.

He was glad when morning finally came. The Vampire city was about a days travel from where the pack camped now. Alarik came to Jasperain before he woke any of the other wolves up. "You will be traveling up front with me today." Alarik told Jasperain. Jasperain nodded. "Should I help wake up the pack?" he asked. Alarik smiled broadly. "Just what I was just going to ask you." the Alpha answered Jasperain's question.

Japerain went around waking the pack up one by one with Alarik. But Jasperain stayed away from Beryl. She would attack him if he woke her, she hated him that much. That thought sent shivers up Jasperain's spine. He almost wished that he had not been chosen, for so many reasons.

All the pack was awake and traveling now. The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky and warmed the previously cool air. It was nice, but Jasperain and Werewolves in general, liked the night time better. Alarik walked on all fours beside Jasperain on the forest path. "Tell me, Jasperain, what do you know of being a deputy?" he asked. Jasperain thought for a moment. "I don't know the specs, but I know that I am to be the bridge between you and the pack. I know that I must support you, no matter what...." Jasperain looked at Alarik, uncertain. Alarik nodded. "I'll explain to you."

Alarik explained everything he needed to as they walked at the front of the pack. He said that there must be trust between the Alpha and the deputy in a pack. No secrets. That part Jasperain did not know how to handle. He would have to tell Alarik about Veax sooner or later. When Jasperain knew it would be safe to tell Alarik, he would. Alarik also said that the deputy had to establish trust and friendship between him or herself and the pack. Jasperain was going to have a problem with that too. Beryl would rather become a loner than be friends with Jasperain. He would have to tell Alarik about that one too.

The sent of Vampires filled Jasperain's nose as the pack traveled. Jasperain looked at Alarik. "What are we doing so close to the v-blood drinkers?" his tongue almost slipped in to saying 'Vampires'. Alarik seemed not to notice. "We are going to camp where the blood drinkers just camped. Their sent will vaguely cover ours." Alarik explained, but Jasperain was still confused and Alarik could see that. "We are going to camp near the city and then we will call the hoard and then we attack the city." he said, his voice dark. Jasperain could not help but think of Veax.

Covers

Here is the cover for Betrayal!

I made two different covers:

A white one with the title.
And a colored one with no title.

They had 13 layers each and took me about three hours to make?
Long long time.
Well, tell me how you like them!
Chapter #3 of Betrayal will be coming along shortly! (now in the post below this one)

!!!Spoiler Warning!!!
!!!This next little blurb might be a spoiler to some. So if you don't want to know, don't read this!!!

The characters on the cover(s) are Veax and Jasperain.
To me they look like their about 16-17 in the picture(s).
But in the story, as Jasperain stated in the 2nd chapter, Veax and Jasperain look like they are about 20-ish.
Just FYI.....

Betrayal (3)

3: History

Two days passed since Veax and Jasperain's meeting. Veax was starting to wonder why he had not come back. His pack probably found out. she thought has the clans traveled.

Yet again the clans set up camp under beautiful sunset. Veax readied herself for patrol duty. The previous night she had gotten patrol duty again, so she assumed that again she would have patrol.

Carthem walked into the small tent. "Veax," he started. Veax turned to face him. "Yes father?"
"I want you to watch the young ones tonight."
"What?" Veax asked, surprised.
"Would you rather do patrol again?"
"No! I was just surprised, father. I'll head over there now." Veax said, glad that she did not have to do patrol.

Watching the young ones was much more pleasurable for Veax. There was not much to do when watching the young ones. All Veax had to do was make sure they did not run off or anything.

Nasya was still young enough to be considered a young one, though soon, probably when they reached the city, Nasya would undergo her coming of age ceremony. She would be turning thirty. A very very young age for the Vampires. Veax herself was thirty-seven, but she acted and looked like she was in her early twenties. Vampires aged roughly twenty years slower then the Humans. Veax had no idea how fast Werewolves aged, or how long they really lived.

Nasya came up to Veax and looked up to her with pleading eyes. "Veax, can you tell us a story? We got really bored and you tell the best stories." she pleaded. Veax chuckled. Stories were her strongest point. "Alrighty then. What sort of story do you young ones want to hear?" Veax asked, stepping into the middle the circle young of ones. "What about a story about King Elleron?" one of them asked. Veax stood for a moment, pondering. "Very well." she said smiling.

Once the young ones settled themselves in a quiet cricle around Veax, she started the story. "Hundreds and Hundreds of years ago, the Vampire king, ElleronRawdroll ruled over these lands. King Elleron was a great tyrant, showing no mercy to the lands that he consumed." she started. The young ones already knew most of what Veax was going to tell them, but the facts and tidbits she added into the mix would keep them interested and they knew that. "Elleron had but one problem: he was utterly and completely alone." the young ones looked at her confused. Veax was quick to explain why Elleron was lonely. "Yes there were other races in the world at the time, like the demons, angels, fairies, nymphs and such, but Elleron was the only Vampire of his kind. Other vampires were lesser, weaker, for Elleron was the only Vampire that had only one weakness. One unique weakness that only he knew." Veax gestured with her hands to show how big Elleron was compared the the vampires of his time. "So he searched his lands for someone he thought might fill the hole in his being. After about a year of searching and watching, Elleron found a young woman by the name of Haythia Mlerkrad. She was half fallen angel and half human. Elleron took her back to the Obsidian castle and bit her, sharing his blood for the first time." Veax took a breath. "Years went by. Elleron trained Haythia to be the best warrior in the land. And in a dresreate way, he spioled her. Gave her everything that she really wanted. Well almost everything she really wanted. Elleron refused to share Haythia with any other man or woman. He wanted her to love him as he loved her. But that failed miserably for Haythia fell in love with Elleron's right hand, Andreas." Veax watched as the young ones picked up on a fact that they previously did not know and smiled. "In his rage against both Haythia and Adreas, Elleron killed Andreas. In return, Haythia attempted to kill Elleron. And in her mind, she completed the task. But Elleron was only severely damaged and needed a few year to heal over before he could come back." Veax turned in circles, so that her ice-blue eyes met each and everyone of the young one's eyes. "Andre, Haythia's daughter grew up listening to Elleron's whispers of evil and darkness and when Elleron's power was back up to its fullest, he broke free. Andre was instantly at his side and helped him re-take the kingdom." Veax paused for effect. "After the kingdom was his again, Elleron used Andre to kill Haythia. You see, Andre inherited the pure angelic blood that Haythia did not have and when Andre killed her mother, that purity was passed to Haythia. This was what Elleron really wanted for Haythia all along, but did not know this until Haythia died a pure angel. With that done, Elleron took all of Andre's blood out of her without killing her, and replaced it with his own blood, making her his daughter and his daughter alone." Veax's body moved like water, meeting the gaze of each young one.

It was when doing this did Veax notice Vance Warxen, a Vampire only a few years older than her. But Veax paid him no mind now, she had to finish her story.

"But Elleron's and Andre's time together as father and daughter did not last long, for Andre was a young woman now, and caught the eye of many men with her beauty and mind. But the one man that caught Andre's eye was the HellFire. He was the fire elemental that was so powerful he could control the pure fires in hell." Veax said, her hands giving as much information as her voice was. "Andre and the HellFire met more and more, and eventually Andre married the HellFire and left the Obsidian castle to live with the HellFire as the HellFlower. This once again left Elleron alone. He was proud of Andre, but he missed her, wanted her back. But as a good father, he let Andre go her own way." Veax took another sweep of the young ones before continuing. "So Elleron started his quest over, but never found another woman that struck him as Haythia and Andre had. After one hundred years of searching, Elleron gave up. Literally." Veax pushed the word 'literally' to its fullest extent. "He went mad and ravaged his own lands, killing off everyone except the Humans, Vampires, and the Werewolves in his rage." when Veax said 'Werewolves' instead of 'pack members' she got many odd looks from her small audience. They were getting a story from Veax, she was going to use words, names, and titles that made her story the most colorful, real, and interesting. So she continued. "Elleron ran on and on until he found himself in the Cold Lands. There he wandered in the ice and snow until he found the Ice Caves. To everyone in the world, the Ice Caves was a place that no one could reach. You would freeze before you even got close to finding them. The caves, despite their name, are not made of ice. In fact, the caves are formed by the biggest diamond that grows on this earth." Veax said, trying to dazzle the young ones with her words as the Ice Caves would have dazzled with their brilliance. "He wandered in the caves for a few days until he found the center. Once there, Elleron fashioned a stake from the diamond and killed himself by the only means he could: stabbing himself with pure diamond like the diamond that grew in the caves." Veax began to wrap up her tale. "And to this day, if you were to ever find the Ice Caves and find the center of their twisting mazes, you would find Elleron laying there on the floor, perfectly preserved, with the diamonds around him stained crimson with his blood." she finished.

The young ones and clapped and Veax could see Vance smiling out the corner of her eye. "Veax that was awesome!" Nasya and a few others exclaimed happily. Veax smiled, "I'm quite glad you liked it." she said.

A moment later, Carthem came over and told the young ones to retire to their respective tents, which they did without complaint. When Carthem left, Vance approached. "Nice story. All fact?" he questioned. Veax nodded. Vance smiled at her, his fangs showing clearly. "I was told that Elleron fought some beast in the Ice Caves and it killed him. Not that he committed love-sick suicide." he said, giving Veax a sideways glance. Veax shrugged. "I was taught to sneak into the castle and read the actual documents that Elleron kept in his life." she said, topping Vance in so many ways. Vance was obvioulsy wounded by that attack that backed off that topic and moved onto something Veax hoped he wouldn't bring up. "So, how'd you get the pack member off you?"

Veax didn't know what to say. She could lie to him, but he would want details and Veax would not remember them all when she had to re-tell the tall. "Didn't Nasya spred the story 'round? I hit an open wound, made him loosen his grip just enough, for just enough time to push him off me." Veax said blandly, hoping that Vance would le t it be. He did not. "I thought you weren't one to fight like that?" he reminded her. Veax had to control her facial features. "The thing was right in my face! It smelled and I was desperate. So I fought dirty and got away. Is that such a problem?" she looked at him, letting some of her annoyance vent into her voice. Trying to hint to Vance that he was not going to go any further with this topic. Vance picked up her hints ans changed the topic. "Join me in a feast?" he asked, inviting her to feed with him. As much as Veax did not like Vance, the thought of hunting and feeding was to much to refuse.

The night air whipped past Veax's face as she ran beside Vance, chasing down two Humans that had chosen the wrong night to sneak into the woods alone. Veax could smell their fear now, it was intoxicating. Veax hated to admit it, but Vance had found the two Humans in the first place. He was the better hunter.

The Humans were cornered now. They made the mistake to try and hide by some boulders that stood by a deep stream. Veax pondered their chances of escape. They could try to swim away. No. In this stat of hunger, Vance and I would be on them before they turned around. They could try to climb the boulders. But then they would end up with the same fate as the first option. Woe is them. Veax knew she should care more, but she really did not right now. She was hungry for some real food.

The screams of the Human Veax lunged at were muffled by her strong hand. Veax's ice eyes changed to an eerie mixture of red and black as she dug her fangs into her prey's neck. Slowly the Human stopped struggling and then finally died. Veax pulled away and sighed. She felt so much better now. Veax looked over to Vance. He to looked refreshed. Veax had to admit, Vance looked good covered in blood. What Vampire did not? But for some reason, Vance looked exceptionally tasty. I swear, feeding like this is not good for me. Veax thought with a smirk.

Vance and Veax sat by the stream for a long time after they fed. Vance's eye returned to their normal color which was a stunning amber that contrasted quite well with his short, shaggy, midnight-black hair.

Veax and Vance walked back to the camp after they buried the Humans. Veax looked around the forest they walked in now. She had played in these woods when she was much, much younger. They were only a few miles outside the main city, the place Veax grew up and where her clan lived until they moved out, as to allow the clan to grow even more. Vance had never been to these woods or the city as far as Veax knew. He and the Warxen clan had lived about sixty miles away from the Bloodrain clan manor. His clan had warned of the oncoming Werewolves.

Carthem was wiating when Veax and Vance got back from their little hunt. "And where were you two?" Carthem asked sternly. He did not like not knowing what was going on among those 'below' him. Vance and Veax looke dot one another. "Well?" Carthem asked, growing impatient. Vance stepped forth. "I asked your daoughter if she'd like to feast with me." Vance said simply. Veax knew that if she had said anything, Carhtem would have demanded a detailed answer. Though for some reason, he liked Vance enough to allow Veax and Vance off the hook this time because he just nodded stiffly and left.

Vance bid Veax goodnight before heading back to his own tent. Veax lay on her cot staring at the top of the tent. That feast left her with a clearer mind to think over the things much more interesting than Vance covered in blood.