Chapter 1: Discovered

AN: ACK! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know I've been gone a while, but please don't kill meeee! (If you do that, then you don't get any more stories) Heehee. Leverage. Isn't it a wonderful thing? Anyway, this is the sequel to A Girl Called Destiny, and it follows the adventures of Destiny and her kids, now that they've returned to the east (see epilogue of the other story). Plus another new character that I don't really feel like telling you about right now, 'cause that would ruin all the fun, now wouldn't it? Anywho, on with the chapter.

Destiny sighed, apprehensive, as she looked out the window as the growing clouds that marred the blue sky, or what she could see of it through the trees that surrounded her small house in Ryszarda. A storm was coming, a strong one by the looks of it, and her children had not come in yet. The three of them outside and had only promised to be back before dark. She sighed again, worried and deep in thought about the past.

You see, Destiny was no ordinary woman. Though she was twenty-five, she appeared not a day older than eighteen, something that greatly puzzled the nosier inhabitants of the town. She was exceedingly grateful for the privacy that the surrounding trees granted her. She and her children had moved from Dubravka three years ago, and even then they had only been in that town for four years, an oddity in a world where most people lived in one town, city, or village all their lives.

But then again, much was odd about the Wiebke family. Most of it stemmed from the fact that Destiny was immortal, an angel, and that her children's father had been Dracula, a powerful vampire. She had never told her children who their father was, for fear that at their young age they would let something slip in conversation and Dracula would be able to track her down. She had been on the run from him for a little over seven years, from the time just before her children were born.

There were three of them: Darryl, the eldest, Rinska, and Kassia, the youngest. All three had vampire fangs, a trait from their father, and needed blood to survive, though not as often as a regular vampire, thanks in part to her blood. Their wings were a blend of both parents. Kassia's were white and feathery, purely angel. Darryl's were black and bat-like, purely vampiric. And Rinksa's were black and feathery, a blend of both. Darryl and Kassia both had their father's black hair, but with a streak of their mother's white near the front. Rinksa's was white with a black streak. She was also the only one who had inherited her father's dark eyes; the others possessed their mother's icy blue.

Destiny tucked a piece of her long hair behind her ear. She was debating about whether or not to go out and look for her children. Then again, there was little in the woods by way of creatures that would actually bother them. The main inhabitants were squirrels and other small animals. They also knew the woods better than she did. She decided against it. They knew how to take care of themselves.

"C'mon," pleaded Rinska. Kassia shook her head. "Don't be such a baby. Please? We won't be in there long."

"Mother doesn't want us in the tavern," said Kassia primly. She didn't like the tavern anyway. It was dark and noisy and crowded.

"I'll go," Darryl volunteered, with a look of exasperation aimed at his youngest sister. She was just scared, he knew, but Rinska wasn't likely to have any sympathy for what she viewed as babyish behavior.

"Kassia, why don't you go and watch the bakers? We'll meet you there in a little bit." Kassia looked relieved and ran off. Rinska smiled at her brother and together they headed towards the town's tavern. It was dark, crowded, and noisy, but neither of them minded much. They were used to it, having snuck in here often enough.

Being a cold, dreary, cloudy winter day, the tavern was well populated and nobody noticed the addition of the two small children, who snuck to a back table and settled down to listen to the conversations around them. It was by far the best way to find out what was going on in town, and drink-loosened tongues often talked more than was wise, allowing Rinska and Darryl in on more private information they would never have known otherwise.

Rinska was looking around, listening for an interesting conversation, when she spotted a stranger sitting by himself at a dark table in the corner, without a drink. She peered at him, trying to get a good look. He was long in torso, so he was probably tall, and pale, so he was probably rich too. Only people who could afford to hire servants to work outside for them did not have skin roughened and tanned by the weather. He even looked lordly, with solemn grey eyes and shoulder length dark hair. As if he sensed her gaze on him, he turned, fixing her with a piercing stare. Rinska quickly looked away.

Darryl had found a group of men that were talking about his mother, not a rather uncommon occurrence, since she was unmarried with children and lived in solitude.

"'s just plain unnatural," one of the men was saying. "Queer like, with that white hair, her not even being thirty yet."

"How d'you know that?" asked another man.

"Simple. She looks too young," replied the first man.

"But she can't be that young, I mean, with three kids and all."

Rinska had been listening too and noticed that she and Darryl weren't the only ones interested in the conversation. The man in the corner was listening too, and appeared a little too interested for Rinska's peace of mind. Suddenly, he looked at her again.

"Darryl?" She poked her brother in the side.

"What?"

"I think we'd better go."

The look on her face brooked no argument, and so they slide out of their chairs and left for home, stopping on the way to pick up Kassia. They walked at a normal pace, until they reached the beginning of the woods that led to their house. Rinska began to walk a little faster, looking back over her shoulder to make sure they were not being followed. She just couldn't shake the feeling.

"Hey, wait!" Kassia's call made her realize that she was now going at a jog. Rinska looked up at the darkening clouds that loomed menacingly overhead. A clap of thunder startled her into a sprint that lasted all the way until she was safe inside her own front door. It was as if she was trying to outrun the strange man's stare. Something was just not right about him. Rinska couldn't explain how she knew. She just knew.

"Rinska? Where are your brother and sister?" her mother asked from the kitchen.

"They're coming," she replied, slowly getting her breath back to normal. And indeed, at that very moment, Darryl and Kassia entered, more normally paced.

"Dinner'll be ready in fifteen minutes," their mother said. Kassia went to go help and Darryl grabbed Rinska by the arm, pulling her into the privacy of his room.

"What was that all about?" he demanded, very confused by her behavior. "Why were you running?" Rinska explained about the man in the tavern and her bad feeling about him. Darryl looked a bit worried, but whatever he was going to say was forestalled by their mother calling them to the table.

Destiny placed the plates of food on the table, sending a concerned glance at Rinska. Her daughter had come back breathless and pale, and it was obvious that something was bothering her. But when questioned about it, Rinska said it was nothing. Destiny, however, wasn't buying it. Rinska did not scare easily and Destiny had been around too many supernatural things to not be suspicious about anything abnormal.

Dinner was going as usual until there came a quiet but firm knock at the door. Destiny motioned for her children to stay put and keep eating while she went to answer it. Rinska and Darryl looked at each other, then got up and quietly peered around the corner, bringing the front door into view. Destiny opened the door to reveal a tall, pale man with dark hair and grey eyes. Rinska's eyes widened. The man from the tavern must have followed them home.

Destiny's eyes also widened and she paled, though her face remained impassive. For she recognized the man for what he was: a vampire. So one of Dracula's minions had found them at last. She gave a small sigh. It was bound to happen sometime. And now it had.

"May I help you sir?" she asked pleasantly. The vampire raised an eyebrow.

"Come now Destiny," he said reprovingly. Destiny flinched at the sound of her name. "We both know that you know what I am and why I'm here."

Destiny pursed her lips. "Yes, that may be, but I do not know who I'm talking to."

"Aymerick Forlong," he said with a bow, mocking her with his eyes.

"Then I want you to leave, Aymerick Forlong," she said curtly, knowing even as she said it that it was pointless. He would not turn from his mission so easily.

"I think not," he replied blandly. Destiny's mind was racing. She didn't want to have this break out into a fight, especially in front of her children, but keeping him talking wasn't accomplishing anything in the slightest. Indeed, Aymerick was becoming impatient with her and impatient vampires were more apt to do something rash or stupid, by her reckoning.

Well, she also excelled in being rash and/or foolhardy, so she quickly slammed the door in his face and bolted it. For all she knew he was sending a mental call to reinforcements, or worse, Dracula himself.

"Rinska, Darryl, Kassia!" she yelled. All three heads popped out of the kitchen. "Get into Darryl's room. Now!" The three of them hastened to do as she said. Their mother never yelled so when she did, they knew it was serious.

Destiny sprinted to her own room, unlocking the cabinet where she kept her silver knives and daggers, stakes, and holy water. She grabbed two daggers, two stakes, and a bottle of holy water, even as she heard the front door being smashed in. She ignored the fearful pounding of her heart and went out to face Aymerick. He grinned when he saw the daggers in her hands.

"Do you honestly think you can kill me?" he asked scathingly. Switching his tone of voice, he said, "You know my orders are to bring you alive. I don't want to have to hurt you in order to do that."

"Don't trouble your tender heart over me," replied Destiny in a biting tone. She launched herself at Aymerick, daggers upraised. She scored several quick hits, but then Aymerick was on his guard against her, wary of her speed. Destiny smiled grimly at her adversary. The last time she'd been in a knife fight, she'd been pregnant and had nearly died of blood posioning afterwards. Today, though, she was not so encumbered.

Kassia listened to the sounds of the fight with wide, frightened eyes. Rinska and Darryl listened too, both concerned for the safety of their mother. None of them had known that she could fight. Rinska heartily wished she hadn't been correct in her bad feeling about the man. Minutes seemed like hours to them and they jumped at the occasional crash that rose above the clang of steel against silver.

Destiny picked herself up off the floor, for the second time. Aymerick was stronger than she had anticipated and though he was wounded in several places, he appeared unfazed. She was bleeding from a cut to the temple and a gash on her arm, as well as having quite a few developing bruises. Plus, the fight had been going on for some fifteen minutes, which doesn't seem like a terribly long time to you, I'm sure, but it's more than enough time to tire someone out. Someone like Destiny, to be exact. She realized that she had to end this fight soon or she would definitely lose. And that would not have a good outcome.

"I will ask you one last time to give this up," said Aymerick evenly, as if he was only proposing that they take a walk, not that she willingly hand over herself and her children.

"I think not," replied Destiny coolly. She backed up and purposely tripped over the hem of her skirts. As she fell, she dropped her daggers and drew out her stakes, slipping them up her sleeves to hide them.

Aymerick took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. Later, Destiny would come to the conclusion that he just wanted to stop the fight as soon as he could and finish his mission, causing his common sense to momentarily flee. It would prove to be his undoing. As he closed the distance between them, presumably to knock her unconscious, Destiny sprang up, plunging one of the stakes into his undead heart. Aymerick had just enough time to look at her in shock before he dissolved into dust.

Destiny plopped down on the floor with a huge sigh of relief. As if that was a cue, her children came out from Darryl's room, moving cautiously in case they had misjudged the situation.

"It's okay," she told them wearily, holding out her arms and gathering them to her. "He's gone now. He can't do anything anymore," she reassured them gently. She had to appear calm for their sakes, but inside Destiny was scared. They would have to move somewhere else, and move fast if they didn't want to get caught. It was a journey she was loath to make, though. Out on the open road they would be vulnerable. But she'd just have to take the chance. They couldn't stay here anymore.

AN: review, or I don't post the next chapter and I also don't work on the third chapter. (threats make the world go 'round. So do reviews. And cookies.) Flames will be used to roast marshmallows.