Finding The Raven

The Academy was being attacked and her friends being killed. The invaders were too many. She could defend herself, but his body was big and strong. His suit was protected with a metal breastplate with long metal spikes. She could stab one of the fork-like sabers into his body, but he fell down over her, stabbing his spikes into her chest and stomach... the pain invaded her... she could barely breath because the warrior's body was pressing her lungs... suddenly the light started to fade away... she felt weak and even when she tried to shout she couldn't... There were just one solution... she tried to focus...

Sensei Watanabe... please ... help me!.

*****************

"Rangers, I'm afraid we have a mission to accomplish" the Sensei told them. "Cybercam, please show the monitor". They could see a building smaller than an Academy destroyed and in flames. People dressed in uniforms dead and their bodies scattered all around the place.

"What is it, Father?" Cam asked.

"Other Academy was attacked" he explained. "A small Academy in Nepal"

"Who did it? Lothor?" asked Dustin.

"Impossible, he was destroyed!" said Hunter. "You were there, weren't you?"

"I meant one of his goons maybe" Dustin retorted.

"No, they were attacked by other warriors. Humans" Sensei said. "And your mission is to rescue one of the survivors. Her name is Raine Bauer".

"Here's a picture of her" Cybercam pointed out to one of the monitors. Immediately they could see the picture of a pretty girl, white skin, black hair and black eyes, smiling at the camera.

"OK, then, get ready" said Shane.

Cybercam teleported them to that place. They started looking for the girl, but she couldn't be found. Outside they started checking the bodies. Blake and Tori looked outside while Cam and Hunter checked inside the building. They entered in one of the rooms and saw ninjas and enemies dead everywhere.

"Shane to Cam" sounded in Cam's wrist. "Any news?"

"Nothing yet" was the answer.

Dustin and Shane went upstairs and entered one of the rooms. The vision was almost the same, dead people everywhere. When they found her.

"Cam, Hunter, come here, we found her" said Shane.

The rest of the Rangers entered the room and saw her laying on the floor with that big man face down over her.

"Help me to move this guy" said Cam, and with Hunter's help they took the man's body away from her, when they saw that the guy had stabbed the spikes inside her body. She had lost lots of blood... The body had fang marks in the neck as if something had bitten him.

"Cybercam, teleportation, now!" Cam said. And they were taken back to the Ops with the girl.

*****************************

When she opened her eyes, she found herself laying on a litter, with a needle inside her left hand. Her chest still ached. She tried to talk, but there was something on her mouth. She was breathing through an oxygen mask. "So I didn't die" she thought.

"Good morning" she heard. She tried to focus, but she couldn't have her eyes opened. "Good morning, you OK?" the voice repeated.

She could only nod. The man was looking at her and taking away the mask. His almond eyes were friendly and warm. "My name is Cameron Watanabe" he said. "You are at the Wind Thunder Academy".

"Did she wake up?" asked Hunter entering the medical room.

"Yes" Cam answered. "Hey, wait a minute!" he said when the girl tried to sit up. "You can't move".

"I'm fine" she said. "I need to go".

"You can't go anywhere, yet" Cam said while trying to stop her. "You still have your wounds bleeding".

"I need to talk to Sensei Watanabe" she said with a strange look in her black eyes.

"OK, wait here" offered Hunter. "I will go and bring him in, just don't move" he said looking at her with his deep blue eyes.

When Sensei entered the room he saw his son fighting against this girl who had taken off the IV and now was trying to take off the bandages.

"Raine, I'm here" he said calmly.

"Sensei, I can't stay any longer" she said looking at him.

"But my son says you can't leave the medical room yet" Sensei said smiling at her.

"The longer I stay the bigger the risk" she said. "They know I escaped".

"Who are 'they'?" Hunter asked, looking at her.

"The Claw" she said.

"Those warriors in those funny costumes?" asked Cam.

"Yes, mercenaries" Raine said sadly.

"Let me see your wounds" said Cam, while forcing her to stay still.

"I am fine!" she said taking his hands off her body. She took off the bandages finally and Cam could see no wounds at all. Her skin was clean and completely healed.

"impossible!" he said. "I myself stitched your wounds two days ago".

"Is there anything you want to tell us, Raine?" asked Sensei calmly. She understood that they needed to know the truth... maybe just part of it.

"Maybe we should go to the main room" Cam offered. "The medical room is no the most appropriate place to talk".

Raine received a new uniform and got dressed. She was given some minutes to get ready and the rest of the rangers met the Sensei at the main room waiting for her.

When she entered the room all of them saw her for the first time. Her black hair, longer than the picture they saw, her black eyes looked tired and her white skin made her look so different.

Cam offered her a seat and started. "What was all that massacre we found there?"

Raine looked at him but she seemed unable to find the words. She looked at Sensei trying to ask for help.

"They were sent to our school to destroy it" she started.

"But what were they looking for?" asked Hunter.

"They were looking for me" she answered back.

"Why?" asked Cam.

"My academy found something and they wanted it" she said.

"Could you tell us?" asked Shane.

"In Nepal my academy received different missions to accomplish for different countries" she started. "Sometimes we had to go and rescue people or retrieve information, and things like that".

"Mercenaries, in other words, like the ones who attacked you" Cam pointed out.

"Yes" she said.

"And what exactly did they want from you?" asked Tori.

"Some time ago, I went to a mission in Romania" she started. "Our mission was finding the secret of Vlad Dracul, and find his castle, supposedly located in the Carpathian Mountains on the border of Transylvania and Moldavia"

"Vlad Dracul, you mean Dracula?" asked Shane

"Yes, Dracula" Raine said.

"But that's a myth, isn't it?" asked Dustin.

"No, it isn't" she said.

"and you found it, didn't you?" asked Blake.

"We did" she said looking at the floor.

"And what was that secret?" asked Cam.

"I can't tell you. I can't tell anyone" she said. "Even my sensei gave me special orders"

"Raine, your sensei is dead" said Sensei. "There's no one left to be loyal to"

"What do you mean with special orders?" asked Cam.

"Sensei told me that I should take the secret back to the academy. If my other mates warriors found it first, I should take it from them" she explained. "When we found the castle, we went for different ways. I found the secret and went back to the academy"

"And the rest of your team?" asked Hunter.

"They were ambushed inside the castle by The Claw" she said. "All of them died".

The Rangers could notice that it was very difficult for her to talk about this. So, Tori decided to help her.

"Why don't we change the subject for a moment and please tell us about your training" she said.

"I was trained in a Thunder Academy until I was 12, then I moved to Nepal for the special warrior instruction" she told them.

"What's your favorite weapon?" asked Dustin.

"Sabers and shuriken" she answered.

"Shuriken are forbidden!" said Shane.

"Not in my school in Nepal" she explained. "There, we had to handle them all"

"Sensei Omino told us once the story of an assassin, a fierce warrior, called The Raven. Do you remember, Blake?"

"yeah, he said that this warrior killed one of his own friends at the academy with his shuriken" Blake said.

"And also, killed almost ten armed men, when he was in a mission. Sensei Omino told us that when the bodies were found they had to match the bodies with the heads, because all of them were decapitated" told Hunter.

"Did you know that story, Raine?" asked Tori

"Yes" she said sadly.

"Did you ever meet The Raven in that secret school of yours?" asked Cam.

"I am The Raven" she said.

*****************

The Rangers looked at her astonished.

"The things we just talked about. Are they true?" asked Hunter.

"Almost" she answered. There were no intention in her voice. "When those men were found, nobody had to match the bodies with the heads. I never decapitated them. I just cut their throats"

"Oh, thanks God! That makes a big difference!" said Cam sarcastically. "Didn't you learn about the Ninja and samurai codes of honor? We don“t serve personal interests, we are not mercenaries"

"Calm down, son" said Sensei.

"Samurais were, in the past, the mercenaries of the Emperor" she said. "There are many codes of honor, Cam"

"And is it true that you killed one of your friends?" asked Shane.

"He wasn't my friend" Raine said.

"So it's true" said Hunter. "And what happened?"

"How did you kill him?" asked Cam ignoring Hunter's question. He was blinded with anger.

"With my shuriken" she said.

"Did you use a forbidden weapon against one team member?" asked Tori.

"Yes" she said.

"Enough! Every time I think we did right rescuing you, you give me tools to think I'm wrong" Cam shouted.

"You love one-sided stories, don't you?" asked Raine, standing up and looking at him defiantly. Afterwards, she looked at Blake and asked him "Do you love someone?"

"Yes, I love Tori" he answered immediately. Tori blushed.

"What would you do if you see somebody trying to rape her?" she asked calmly.

"I'd defend her. I'd kill that son of a bitch!" he answered. The only image in his mind troubled him.

"Exactly" Raine said. "Now, I need a bit of fresh air. Excuse me" and saying that, she left the room.

***********************

"We need to go after her and bring her back, Cam" said Hunter.

"You're right, maybe she can be in danger in the woods" Cam retorted.

"Go and find her" said Tori. "We will wait here for you"

They had to walk for over 40 minutes until they found her. They could only see her back, she seemed to be eating something.

"Raine, are you OK?" asked Cam.

She turned back, cleaning her mouth with her hand. What they saw made them feel weak. She was holding a dead bird and they could still see blood spots on her mouth, her lips were still red and the teeth... "Cam, Hunter, sorry... I didn't want you to see me like this..." she tried to explain.

"Is there any other secret you want to tell us?" asked Cam, with his eyes full of disappointment.

"I wanted to tell you but I couldn't..." she only managed to say.

"Don't you trust us?" asked Hunter.

"I don't know, Hunter, I wasn't trained to trust..." she was trembling.

"Let's go back to the Academy. And this time I want you to tell me everything. I want the whole truth, Raine" said Cam menacingly.

She followed in silence. She was feeling something strange in her heart. On one hand she didn't know how to interact with other people, not now at least, she had been alone for years, but on the other, it was so good being with Cam and Hunter that she didn't want to lose them.

When they entered the Academy, the rest of the rangers were waiting in the main room.

"Everything OK, guys?" asked Shane, coming closer and putting his arm around Raine's shoulders. Her reaction was immediate. She couldn't resist being touched and instinctively pushed Shane back violently. "I'm sorry, Shane" she said when she realized what she had done. Shane and the rest noticed that something was happening to her.

"Do you want to talk about that?" asked Tori. "You don't like to be touched, do you?"

"So, you maybe killed that guy because you were trying to defend yourself, not anybody else, didn't you?" asked Dustin.

She nodded silently.

"Nobody here will hurt you" said Blake. "We are a family. We protect each other".

"Didn't you have a family... I mean parents, brothers?" asked Shane.

"No" she finally said. "My parents got rid of me at the Thunder Academy and Sensei Omino couldn't raise a girl. He was already involved with the education of two brothers whose parents had died, so it was impossible for him to look after me too, so when I was 12 I was sent to Nepal"

"Those brothers were us, Blake" said Hunter.

"But why did he send you there, to that school, instead of finding another regular academy?" asked Tori.

"I wasn't educated inside a family, so I had no bonds with anyone" she explained. "I was perfect for that kind of academy, I had no feelings for anyone".

"Raine, you can count on us. You have a family now" said Hunter. "We won't let you alone".

"Thanks, but there's still something you should know" she said, looking at Cam. He looked back at her. Her new friends were listening to her attentively. "When I told you I found the secret of Vlad Dracul, I didn't tell you the whole truth. My mission was getting the secret and take it back to the academy, no matter the cost. The secret was the blood of Vlad Dracul" she said.

"Blood?" Cam asked.

"Yes, his blood, absolutely non-coagulated" she continued. "My 'special' orders were 'drink it and replace it with a fake solution'. It seemed very dangerous, because the blood could be poisoned, but I was trained to obey, so I did it, and returned to the academy using another way. That night when I was on my way back, I started feeling sick, feverish and weak. My sight was blurry, so I decided to stop and look for shelter in a cave in the mountains. That was the worst night of my life" she said and looked at her friends.

"What happened?" asked Dustin.

"This" she said and closing her eyes, she felt how her teeth started to grow. Her friends looked at her with their eyes wide opened.

"When I realized I had been turned into a vampire it was too late" she said. "Hunter and Cam saw me now, hunting"

"OK, guys, don't panic!" Cam said, looking at her tenderly. "Have you noticed any special effect?"

"Other than the blood appetite?" she asked sadly.

"Yes, something else" Cam answered taking a seat close to her.

"I can heal quickly, my hearing improved, also my night sight, and I can...fly" she said looking at them.

"Fly? that's incredible!" said Hunter, taking a seat closer. "What else?"

"That's all, I think" she said.

"I think it's time to go to rest, tomorrow will be another day" said Cam, and all of them stood up and went to the bedrooms.

"I just prepared a bedroom for you, Raine" Tori said, smiling at her.

"Thanks, Tori" said Raine, smiling back.

"Please let us know if you need anything" offered Hunter, entering his room with Cam.

In the room, Cam took off his shirt when felt Hunter's arms holding him and his chest pressed against Cam's back. "You OK?" asked the blond.

"Now, I am fine" he answered back, smiling.

"And why?" Hunter continued.

"Because you're here with me" said Cam. "With your body pressed to mine"

"I love you, Cam" whispered Hunter.

"I love you, Hunter" said Cam, turning around to look Hunter in the eyes. "With all my heart"

Hunter kissed him senseless and his hands started a sensual dance up and down Cam's back. Cam couldn't resist that, he started to moan and his hands looking for Hunter's belt to get rid of it and unzip his jeans. After a couple of minutes they both were laying on the bed, naked with their limps interlaced in a love making dance... it seemed to last hours... when both lovers were absolutely tired and satisfied they fell asleep holding each other tight.

Raine, was laying in bed, looking at the ceiling. She didn't want to fall asleep. Those strange nightmares will come again to play tricks on her mind. The Claw, chasing her and she tried to run, but they were after her...

Suddenly she felt hungry again... she remembered Cam's words "don't go out of the waterfall" he said... She got up and left the room. The academy was quiet... she won't leave the secured zone, she only wanted a bird... the need of blood increased day by day...

Cam had offered her tested human blood, from his stock at the infirmary, but she had denied. "If I start drinking human blood, I will start chasing people..."

It was dark outside. She loved the sounds of the night, so she started walking to the woods, she flew to a tree and got a bird. She could see the lights of the Academy at a distance when she saw them... Cam and Hunter left the academy and went to the woods... towards her.

She jumped to the ground right in front of them. "Hi, couldn't sleep?" she asked.

"I felt a noise, got up and saw your door open" Cam said. "hungry again?"

"Yes, but I'm fine now" she said.

"Can we stay with you?" asked Hunter.

"Sure" she said.

The three of them started walking to the Academy again,enjoying being together. Something was happening inside their hearts.

"You don't wanna sleep either, do you?" asked Cam

"No, I have nightmares" she said.

"What are those nightmares about?" asked Hunter.

"I have to run from the warriors and they are after me, I try to run faster but I can't, and they are right behind..." she said. "It's always the same"

"Maybe we should help you out with those nightmares" said Hunter with a grin.

"And what's the idea?" asked Raine.

"We could stay with you tonight" said Cam, taking her hand while walking. So did Hunter.

"And what if I feel hungry again?" she asked playfully.

"You'll have the food at hand" said Hunter, standing in front of her and pressing his lips to hers in a fast kiss.

"Don't say that" she said, pushing him away softly.

"Why not?" asked Cam smiling and kissing her too. "Hunter's right".

"It's not funny, guys. I would never touch you" she said seriously.

"And if we'd ask you for it?" asked Cam. "Would you do it?"

"We talked about it and we are willing to be transformed" said Hunter.

"You don't know what you're telling me" she said walking away from them. "You don't want to be vampires".

"Why you say that?" said Hunter.

Raine's face had a sad expression now. "I'm dying, guys" she said. "The transformation is being harder than I thought".

"What?" asked Cam. "Why you haven't said a word about it?"

"Because there's nothing to do" she said. "The sun started bothering me now, and it's getting worse, and I can't resist food"

"There must be something that we can do" said Hunter looking at her.

"I don't know. There was nothing else inside Vlad Dracul's coffin" she said.

"Maybe we should go back and check" offered Cam.

"You can't go there. It's dangerous" she said.

"Let's discuss that tomorrow morning" said Cam. "Now, we need to go back and rest".

"You could sleep with us" said Hunter holding her. "We will take care of your sleep".

Saying that, the three friends started walking towards the Academy. When they entered the room, it was dark and only the moonlight entered the room. They laid on the bed absolutely blinded by the desire.

Still with their limbs interlaced, they were sleeping deeply when Raine woke up with a scream.

"What happened?" asked Hunter worried. What he saw made him scream too. Raine's face had a terrible burn mark. The sun entered the room and one ray was directly in her face. She was screaming and got up looking for the shadows.

"Don't look at me!" cried Raine. "Don't look at me!"

Cam run to close the curtains. "It's OK, babe, it's OK" he said. "Hunter, we have to fix this with blackout curtains"

Slowly her face was healing and her skin was covering the wound. "It's amazing!" Cam said holding her hand. "Do you feel better now?"

She silently nodded. "Do you feel hungry, babe?" asked Hunter. She shook her head. "Not now, and even if I'm hungry, I need to wait until the evening to drink" she said.

"No, we can go outside and bring a bird for you" offered Cam.

She just smiled at them. Hunter gently cover her body with the bed cover. "Raine, you look pale" he said sitting close to her.

"I think you should consider drinking my supplement blood" said Cam. "I think that bird blood is not enough".

"He's right, you should think about it" said Hunter. "I'm pretty sure you can handle it".

"I'll think about it, I promise" she said kissing them both. "Now, we have to go to the morning training"

"Yes, and I'll tell my father that we have to do it inside the Academy" Cam said.

"Thank you" she said.

*****************

They left the room already dressed and Cam and Hunter were in front of her closing all curtains for her to walk with no problem. They reached the main room where the rest of the rangers were sparring, waiting for sensei and when there Cam and Hunter started closing all the window blinds, letting them in complete darkness.

"What happens, son?" asked the Sensei, entering the room.

"Raine can't be exposed to the sunlight" Cam said.

"So it already started" said the Sensei.

"It seems so" said Cam while the rest of the rangers looked at Raine with puzzled looks.

"What happens, Raine?" asked Tori.

"Some days ago I realized that I couldn't resist the sun" she started. "It burns me, and it's been days since my last food. I can't resist food either, just blood".

"So, father, could we please train inside?" asked Cam.

"Of course, let's go to the training room" said the Sensei leading the young senseis to the room downstairs.

*************************

After the training all the rangers seemed to be very tired. Raine, wasn't an exception, on the contrary. She looked pale and exhausted. All of them noticed her.

"Raine, do you feel OK?" asked Dustin.

"You look pale" said Tori.

"I'm fine, I'm just tired..." she said.

"No, you're weak. You need to change your diet" said Cam taking her hand.

"You said you would think about it" said Hunter holding her.

"OK, I'll try your supplement" she said defeated.

In a couple of minutes Cam was back with a bag of blood. She put it in her mouth and sank her fangs in the plastic. The sensation overwhelmed her. It tasted so good. The color in her cheeks changed immediately.

"Do you feel better?" asked Shane.

She nodded, still enjoying the taste of human blood in her mouth.

Blake went to the kitchen for something to eat, since it was almost lunch time and as it was dark, he didn't see the knife on the table and cut his finger... the reaction was immediate.

Raine smelled the blood and the first word in her mouth was "Blake!".

At the same time, Blake left the kitchen with his hand bleeding. Raine's face changed, her eyes shining and her teeth were larger, and her friends feared the worst. "Let me help you" she offered. Blake looked at her and at his friends. She softly took his hand and started to lick up the blood in his wound. Immediately the wound stopped bleeding and started to close. All of them looked at her astonished.

"What was that?" asked Shane.

"I transferred a little bit of my healing power to him" Raine explained, looking more normal now.

"You drank my blood" said Blake.

"Yes, but don't worry, I didn't bite you" she said softly, smiling.

"I know, but..." he couldn't finish... he didn't know how to say it...

"I won't chase you" she said looking into his eyes. "If that's what you mean".

"Do you feel OK, Raine?" asked Cam.

"Yes, I can control this" she said. But the others seem not to believe her.

***********************************************

The sun was gone, and Raine was walking along the beach, bare footed, enjoying the breeze in her face and the different colors at the horizon. She felt pretty different now that she had tasted human blood. She definitely felt different. Stronger.

Suddenly she heard something. She was not alone. She could smell the air and know who they were. Cam and Hunter were walking towards her.

"Is everything OK?" asked Hunter smiling at her.

"Yes, I just needed some fresh air" she answered.

"We missed you" said Cam tenderly. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't know what.

"Guys, I need to go back" she said taking their hands. Her face was even paler under the moonlight.

"Where?" asked Hunter, holding her.

"To the castle. I know there is something hidden there, and I need to find out what it is" she said.

"We will go with you" Cam said, resting his head on her shoulder.

"You can't. It may be dangerous" she said looking at them. They could realize that she had decided exactly what to do.

"You will come back, won't you?" asked Hunter. He knew the answer, but he needed to hear it from her.

"I just want to find the answer to all this mess. As soon as I find it I will come back to you, my boys" she said looking at Hunter tenderly. She knew exactly what to do if that answer was not there. But they didn't need to know. Not that night.

"Go back to the academy. I'm cold" she said. "I think I need kisses and caresses to sleep well tonight".

"We can help you with that" teased Cam, kissing her softly.

"But we also need your kisses" said Hunter kissing her neck. She moaned and pressed her body to theirs. "Please, let's go back"

**********************************

It was late when they entered the academy. Their friends seem to be all in bed, so does Sensei.

Raine enter with the boys to their bedroom, probably they would make love for a couple of hours, and she would wait until they fell asleep, then, she will get up and help with the house chores during the night and about dawn, she would go back to the bed.

"I love you, Raine" whispered Cam. "I love you, Hunter"

"I love you two" said Hunter in the middle of a sigh.

"I love you" answered Raine. She couldn't breath. Her body was experimenting such amount of emotions and sensations at the same time that she was incapable of reacting.

When the boys fell asleep she got up in silence, dressed up and went to the common room to help with the cleaning. When everything was done, she went to the main room, where she saw Cybercam checking up to the monitor.

"Hi, Cye" she said. "What are you doing?"

"Checking all the sensors. We need to be sure that the Academy is safe" he explained.

"Cye, could you please teleport me to the castle again?" she asked.

"Yes, do you want to come back there?" he asked her. "Why?"

"I need to find out what's going on with me" she said.

"You should wait for Cam and Hunter before going back there" Cye suggested.

"You know they won't let me go" she said. "Please Cye, send me there again".

"OK, change your clothes and bring all your stuff, I'll prepare the coordinates" the replica said.

"Thanks, I'll be back in a minute" she said smiling.

***********************************

When Raine entered the main room again, already dressed in her ninja uniform, Cybercam was not alone. Cam and Hunter were there looking at her with disapproving looks.

"Cye, I should've imagined!" she said.

"are you going somewhere?" asked Cam, disappointment in his voice.

"why you didn't wake us up" said Hunter.

"Guys, I ... need to go" she said avoiding their looks.

"OK, we're going with you, then" said Cam.

"We don't want to let you go alone" said Hunter.

"No, you can't go, there are too many dangers there" she said. "Besides, The Claw can be still searching the castle"

"We are trained ninjas, Raine" said Cam.

"I insist. This is something I must do alone" she replied.

The conversation started louder when finally Cam shouted. "I don't want you to go!"

"Cam, Hunter, guys, you can't be that selfish!" shouted Tori entering the main room. Finally the argument in the main room had woken her up. "Guys, Raine's dying. If you love her, you must let her go".

Tori had always been the most reasonable of all and every time she gave an argument, no one could refute it. Besides, Cam and Hunter knew very deep inside that they were being unreasonable and selfish, but they also knew that there was a slight possibility that Raine wouldn't come back.

They both looked at Raine and held her tight, kissed her, forgetting for a moment that Tori was there.

"Please, take care and come back" whispered Cam.

"Remember that we love you and we'll be here waiting for you" said Hunter.

"I love you too, guys, thanks for understanding" she said.

She was ready to go. Cybercam prepared the coordinates to transport her safely. Tori approached and held her tight. "Find what you need and come back, no matter what. Promise!" she said.

"I will" Raine said. Cybercam pressed the buttons and she disappeared.

******************************************

When she entered the castle, the view was quite more different than the first time... corpses everywhere. Soldiers of The Claw, dead, all over the place. She kneeled close to one of the bodies and saw two marks in his neck... "Vampires" she thought. She had to be careful... vampires weren't known enemies. She walked through the long corridor to the main rooms and the view wasn't any better, bodies scattered everywhere. She opened the door that should lead her to Vlad Dracul's room. When she entered the room, she saw him, standing next to Dracul's coffin.

"Hello, Raven, I was waiting for you" said the man without turning back.

"Who are you?" Raine asked, her hand ready in her saber.

"Lestat, that's my name" he answered and turned back to looked at her.

He was even more handsome than she thought. Dark hair and almond eyes. "I'm one of the ancients" he continued. "I knew you were coming back".

"How's that possible?" Raine asked him.

"It's written" he answered.

"Where? I need to know" she told him and came closer. "I was transformed by an accident. I need to know if there's something that can help me to stop this".

"There's no way back, my dear. But the Chosen, will walk between the living and the dead. In light and shadows" he said, looking at her.

"The Chosen?" she asked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you, the Chosen" he said naturally.

"That's not possible! I can't resist the sunlight" she replied.

"There's something you should see then" and saying that, he walked away. Raine followed in silence and without lowering her guard.

******************************

"Any news?" asked Cam to his virtual replica.

"Nothing. She just disappeared" Cybercam answered.

"It can't be possible!" shouted Cam.

He was desperate, pacing from one side to the other.

"Did you find her?" asked Hunter entering the main room

"No, there's no trace of her" Cam said, worry in his voice.

"We should go" suggested Hunter.

"It's better that you don't even think about it" said the virtual replica.

***************************

She followed in silence. Lestat took her into another room. It was like a big library. She could see scrolls and books everywhere.

"Here it is" Lestat said, handing her an ancient scroll. "Read it" he said.

She opened it and started reading carefully. She knew it was in other language, but for some reason she could read it with no problem.

The chosen will enter the vampire realm.

Coming back to the origin.

She will walk between two worlds.

"It talks about you" he said. "That's how I knew you will come"

"The Chosen?" she asked. "What does it mean?"

"Keep on reading" he said.

She will drink the blood of the Ancient;

she will be the night stalker

and the daylight walker.

"Daylight walker?" she asked again. "That's wrong. The sunlight hurts me. I told you"

"Because you haven't drank from me yet" he said, smiling at her for the first time. His smile was alluring but mysterious.

She pretended that nothing happened and continued reading. "The Scourge of Seducers, Leto of the Vrykolakas, beautiful and alluring, hiding great power, great danger" she stopped suddenly. "I don't understand... who's this talking about?" she asked him.

"It's talking about you, please believe me" he said. "You're the Scourge of Seducers" he explained as if it was so clear. "Keep on reading".

She will be more than a human and more than a vampire,

drinking from the two races of the earth,

when destruction and peace collide in pleasure, with her.

"What I'm supposed to do now?" she asked.

"First of all, you must give me your blood and I will give you mine" he said. "In that way you will be the daylight walker" he explained.

"OK, let's do it then" she said.

*********************************************************

Cam was still awaken, in front of the super computer. He was trying to find her. It was impossible that she could have been teleported and now couldn't be traced. She had to be somewhere.

"You need to sleep, babe" said Hunter entering the main room and standing behind his love.

"We need to find her, Hunter" he said.

"She will make it. Trust her" said Hunter, holding him from the back.

"What if something happened to her?" Cam asked, receiving the embrace.

"She's a trained ninja, even better trained than us" Hunter replied, almost whispering in Cam's ear, sending shivers to his spine.

"I'm worried" Cam said.... "trained ninjas were killed in her academy"

"Let's go to sleep" Hunter offered. "You need to rest".

Cam accepted Hunter's hand and together walked out to their bedroom.

**************************************************************

Raine laid down on the bed. She knew the rest...

He looked at her with his beautiful almond eyes and pressed his body to hers... He started kissing her neck, whispering some strange language. She wanted to feel it. His cold hands running all over her warm body. She could feel him inside her, moving his hips against hers in a violent and sensual dance. She couldn't almost breath... the orgasm was imminent, she was almost there when she felt his teeth pressed against her breast. It was pleasure and pain... and then... nothing...

*******************************************

Can and Hunter woke up in the middle of the night, agitated, breathing with difficulty...

"Something is wrong, Hunter" Cam said.

"You also had that nightmare..." said Hunter running his fingers through his hair.

"I know that she's in danger" said the samurai looking into Hunter's eyes. "I can't explain but I know"

"I know... I have the same feeling. But there's nothing we can do from here" Hunter said.

"Hunter, please hold me tight" said Cam looking for his lover's embrace.

"Everything is going to be OK, babe" said Hunter kissing Cam's forehead. They both wanted to believe that everything would be ok.

*********************************************************

The next moment, she was biting him, pressed to his wrist, while moving in a lovemaking dance again. She couldn't resist the pleasure of his blood and his body. Lestat was also burning inside. Her blood was sweet and he could feel new energy flowing inside him. Both were enjoying the pleasure of their bodies, until they were so tired that fell asleep.

When Lestat woke up, he found her lying next to him, naked. He touched her body once more and tenderly started waking her up.

"Raven, you have to come back to your world" he said to her. "Take the scroll with you and find the answers"

"You could come, too" she said looking at him. "If I find the answers, you can be human again".

"No, this is my place... I will never be human... I was born a vampire, besides, soon there will be more vampires here" he said. "And they will need a master".

"You're giving me the scroll and letting me go? How could I thank you for your help?" she asked him.

"You already did. The blood of Vlad Dracul is also running through my veins" he explained. "Now, I'm not only an Ancient, but I'm totally Immortal"

"Thanks" she said, and got up, got dressed and after a moment, she was ready to come back.

*************************************

All the Rangers and Sensei were gathered around Cam who was in front of the supercomputer, running the search program again. He needed to know where Raine was. It had been two weeks since she left. He was so concentrated in running the program that was unable to hear the beep.

"What's that sound, Cam?" asked Tori.

"What...?" he said when he realized about the red light blinking in the radar.

"It can't be possible!!" said Shane. "It's Raine's signal"

"Cybercam, please, teleportation. Follow the coordinates" they could hear her voice.

"Are you sure?" answered Cam. "It's better to bring you here, inside the building".

"No, do what I tell you" they heard.

Cam teleported her and all of them left the building, running to the Academy grounds. When they walked out, they saw her. She was walking under the sun, enjoying the warm breeze again. She was smiling with her eyes closed and her face upwards.

"Raine!" Cam and Hunter shouted. They both ran to her and held her tight.

"We would also like to say hello" teased Dustin. "Welcome back!"

"Thanks, guys! It's been a long trip" she said.

"Welcome back, my daughter" Sensei greeted her. "These have been long weeks!".

"Weeks??" Raine asked astonished. "It was just one day!".

"No, Raine, you left two weeks ago!" said Hunter, holding her tight. "We were desperate!"

"I don't understand" she said.

"We have been tracking you all these days!" said Shane.

"Yeah, but we couldn't find you" Tori explained. "Then we thought something wrong was happening"

*****************************************

When they entered the academy, the questions started. Her friends wanted to know everything.

"Did you find the answers?" Tori asked her.

"I brought a scroll" Raine answered. "I don't know, it says lots of things"

"How did you find it?" asked Blake.

"Inside the castle. Lestat gave it to me" she answered.

"Lestat?" asked Cam. "Who's he?"

"An ancient. He helped me with some answers" she replied.

"He helped you for free?" asked Hunter.

"No, I had to give him my blood" she said naturally.

"Your what?" asked Shane. "Did he bite you?"

"Yes, he did" Raine said. "But the scroll is here"

"Does it say if you'll be human again?" asked Dustin.

"No, it says that I can be more than a human and more than a vampire. I mean, I can stop the dying process" she said. "It says something about that and about the two races of the earth" she explained while opening the scroll.

"This scroll is written in ancient Romanian" said the Sensei, looking at the scroll carefully. "and contains celtic symbols and also some wiccan rituals"

Everyone was looking at the scroll, when Sensei spoke again. "Raine, read it carefully and see if you can find out the answers".

That evening, after dinner, Raine stayed in the main room, with Cam and Hunter, reading the scroll over and over again.