Shadow

The tracers of the male she had chased down headed deeper into the forest. Gabria silently thanked Fate that the yellow tracks stood out against the dark greens and browns of the forest floor like a beacon. Gabria smiled to herself for the first time in a long while. She knew where this road led. He could not run forever.

Gabria breathed in the scent of the woods around her. Peace settled into her system. All the stress of the previous weeks was suddenly lifted off her shoulders.

She took off at a run. She had to get going before the tracers of the energy faded into the air. It was not untraceable after it faded away, merely harder to trace.

Gabria was surprised. This path her hunt had taken; it was relatively open. Gabria wasn't going to argue with luck. The path wound through the trees. Still, all the turns were obvious. The deeper into the woods she ran, the quieter the woods became. Gabria started to see more and more dead trees and fewer animals. The silence was unnerving.

Finally, the path opened up to a clearing. Gabria cursed when she realized the tracers of footprints she had been following expanded to cover the area she was not standing in front of. She knew if she didn't track him down now, the male would be gone again.

Gabria sighed. If she knew who the male she had been tracking was, she would have a better idea of how to find him. After a once over of the clearing Gabria realized he was simply gone. Anything could have happened to him. Most likely he had found some way to teleport away from her. Gabria lay back in one of the trees in the clearing. She would never find him this way.

Sleep was fast in coming. Gabria dreamed of the makle. She had to find out what he was doing and place herself one step ahead of him. Her dreams were answered her call, but she was always one step behind him.

Movement below woke her up. Gabria quickly gained the ground, rolling under the cover of the nearest brush. The group headed towards her was made up of mortals. From the looks of things, they were ready for a picnic. Gabria watch as they chose a spot near the brush she was hiding in and set out a blanket. Gabria almost groaned aloud. She would have to move because of the whim of a mortal.

What are the chances she could just kill them and get away with it?

Gabria shook her head. She didn't like them, but she wouldn't kill them unless they were actually a threat. Still, it was annoying to her. Gabria moved herself to the other end of the clearing without the humans noticing her. If she didn't find out how the male she had been tracking had gotten away, there was little she could do to follow him without backtracking to the people who assigned her to him. Not the option she wanted, but the one that was looking like the path of least resistance.

With the humans out in the center of the clearing, she would have to wait to look for the way out. Her charge could not have simply disappeared unless he knew how to teleport. Gabria thought she would be well hidden behind the bushes. Even so, the young male of the group and the older female kept looking up in her direction. Gabria chalked it up to the fact that she was actively watching them.

The vibrations hit the air. Slightly at first, but then there was no mistaking the massive flow of dark energy. Gabria rolled over on her back and turned her face to the skies. She couldn't make out anything in the dark swirling mass, but it did not bode well for her. She gained her feet and backed further away from the clearing. Whatever was there was headed right for the humans.

Dark blue-grey mist swirled around the small clearing. Humanoid figured emerged, stepping closer to the occupants of the picnic. Only the young male and the older female seemed to notice anything. Their eyes did not follow the humanoid figures so Gabria was certain they did not comprehend all of what was going on.

The humanoid beings stepped out of the mist were of no race she recognized. Still, in classic vampire fashion they embraced the mortals and bit into their necks. Each mortal in turn, shuddered, froze, and then relaxed, pretending nothing was going on. Gabria guessed the mist beings had some form of mind control or veil over the mortals' eyes.

The mortals returned to their picnic and the beings crawled back into the mist. Gabria was still trying to figure out what happened. The mortals were showing no signs of change. The mist was dispersing just as it had come.

A slow gathering of power to her right drew her attention. Whatever the mist was, the creatures in it had noticed her. Gabria drew her blade. She had never seen these before and wasn't sure what would happen if she hit one of them with a physical object.

A male and female version of the mist beings formed. This time, however, they became solid, colored eyes glowing the same color as the mist. The male opened his mouth wide to show his fangs. The female was looking around and hanging from the arm of the male.

The male pinned Gabria with his smoky eyes. Gabria breathed deep, but remained where she was. The male tilted his head to his partner and smiled. The female's eyes lit up like a child at Christmas and both of them moved towards Gabria.

Before she could blink, the male had his hand over hers, preventing the sword arm from movement. The other hand held the back of her head. Warmth flooded her mind and Gabria found herself wanting to think of nothing. The mist being was trying to erase her memory of whatever events were about to unfold.

"No!" Gabria screamed.

She was sure she had screamed it, but the words never left her mouth. She stepped back, pulling the male with her, right into the female's arms. She reached for Gabria. the moment the icy touch settled over Gabria's waist, a band of freezing cold energy shot through her body. It was made to slow her actions and help the slowing of her mind. Gabria's vision blurred. She shot out her hand to blast the male, only to find she could not move it.

Gabria screamed again, this time out of aggravation. She pushed energy into her voice and shot it forth.

The scream was worthless, but it was enough to push the male back. She was now in hte arms of the female. She was also still barely able to move. Gabria put everything she had into forcing her sword around to hit the female. Her hand shook. The icy energy flowing through her body faltered. Gabria screamed again. As the sound left her mouth, her sword hand swung in an arc to pass through the mist of both the male and the female. Both were now gone.

Join us.

The thought lingered in her head. Not for long, but it was there.

Join us and become one with the night.

You are no Saraphan.

Gabria sent the thought back along the common path the mist being had opened up.

You will see.

The mental path was severed just as it had come. Gabria figured it was time she start tracking her former charge once more. Whoever the humans were, they were on their own.