The lilac pillars of smoke circled up into the air, licking the grey sky. I wondered why the acrid smell that I knew was there wasn't burning my senses any longer. It seemed so strange not to be able to smell what I knew to be seeing.

I sat in the branch of one of pines lining the clearing. Normally, pine branches don't hold much weight, but the tree didn't seem to bend at all. I still felt the same, though. The needles didn't prick my skin, nor did the cones poke at my sides, like I assumed they would. I knew I was no longer a vampire – I could see the pieces of what was my body burning in the aubergine fire – but wasn't sure yet what I had become…again.

It was the second time in my bizarre life that I didn't know what had happened to me. The first was when I burned with a thousand fires as I changed. Now…what was I? A ghost? Presumably. That didn't make any sense though – weren't vampires part of the eternal damned? They didn't have souls, right? If that's the case, then I couldn't be a ghost…Oh, none of this made any sense to me anymore. I should stop trying.

The dark-cloaks were still conversing with the yellow-eyed coven. They spoke in hushed tones – or what sounded to me to be hushed tones. I wondered if my hearing had gone along with sense of smell. It certainly had diminished from vampire levels.

A black smoke began to form and slowly enveloped the dark-cloaks and, just as suddenly as they had come, they disappeared, the heavy cloud drifting off and dispersing into the trees. I turned back toward the clearing and the yellow-eyes were gone too. The only evidence that remained of the battle that had come before were the dying fires, the embers glowing slightly in the gray piles of ash.

I continued to sit in the tree, wondering what was left for me now. Riley was dead, as was this Victoria person. I would forever be grateful to the red-headed mind reader for that. However, that meant our purpose – my purpose – had been fulfilled. So, what now? I had no leader, no home, no body…and nobody. I cringed at the thought of Diego. I should have stayed with him that night, I should have never left him go alone. I would never forgive myself for that. I couldn't bring myself to picture how he suffered…my mind wouldn't allow it. It was too much. He trusted Riley and it cost him everything. I hoped that Riley had suffered, hoped he had been torn limb from limb and burned slowly. I hoped there was a Hell, and that he was in it.

My own death had been brief. I had just closed my eyes, and here I was. I hadn't felt a thing. I had heard a snap, but didn't feel my head separate from my body, didn't realize that was what had happened until I saw my head rolling on the ground, the large dark-cloak having tossed it aside, as he tore my arms from my torso.

One thing I relieved for – the thirst was gone. The constant burning was as annoying as it was a comfort – it reminded me that I was still alive, in whatever form that was. I was glad I didn't need to kill anymore – I had always been a survivor, never a killer.

Now…what was I to survive? If I was a ghost now, did that mean I couldn't die again? If not, what was I living for? Everything was gone…

Except.

Fred had said he would meet up with me in Vancouver. Could I get there? Should I try?

Why not? There was nothing for me here anymore. Diego was gone…

…or was he?

Could what had happened to me happened to him? I shook my head. No, not possible. Wouldn't he have let me know? Maybe he couldn't…maybe…

Maybe I should find out more about what I am first. Then I could find out what happened to Diego, once and for all.

I slid off the tree branch and floated to the ground, landing with the lightest of whispers on the foliage below. I figured I should head north, back to Seattle maybe.

I left the clearing, following back the way I had come.